The King's Lionheart
by BlueEyesXOX
Summary: When the young and shy Primrose arrives in Nottingham, she's given the chance to start a new life. But when word gets out that the Kings' daughter has disappeared, the outlaws realise that she's running from a lot more than a deranged Uncle. Allan/OC - details inside.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note/Disclaimer;

Hi readers, me again. This note/disclaimer is just to explain why I've written another 'Robin-Hood' story, and to basically let you know everything needed to know for the story...;

~ This fanfiction does not clash with 'The-Devils-Daughter'. I got another idea for a 'Robin-Hood' story, only thing is I usually delete the old one and replace it with a new one. But since 'The-Devils-Daughter' seemed to be doing quite good, I decided not to delete it. And I do feel a little weird having two stories in the same category, but hey, this is fanfiction. This is probably the least strangest thing on this website. ;).

~ All the images for the story are on profile. Like OC's appearance and what-not. And just to throw this out there; I do not own the BBC's characters!. I only own my OC - Primrose, and any other OC that may appear during this story.

~ Story will be in OC's POV and it is if course an Allan/OC story. There are no warnings really, but I've rated it 'T' to be careful. And I don't plan on writing any smut scenes, but if I do I'll let you all know and will bump up the rating.

Um, that's about it I guess. But please Review, Follow, or Favourite, it would mean a lot. And no flames please, they will be deleted. But that's about it, and I hope you enjoy the story. :)

* * *

~ England, 1192 ~  
~ Nottingham Forest ~

I slowly trudged down the path, resisting the large urge to stop and rest.

I'd been travelling for at least a week now, longer than I ever had before. And the lack of food and water wasn't doing me much good. I'd run out of money a day ago, using the rest to catch a ride in the back of a strangers wagon. But I knew I couldn't stop, not until I reached a village at least. There I could hide in a barn, fall asleep between a large stack of hay-bale's. So until I arrived, I wouldn't stop, wouldn't sleep. I couldn't, not with my Uncle's men after me. And if that wasn't distressing enough; I had no idea where I was. I knew I was in England, but I had no idea where in England. All I knew was that I had to run - anywhere. As far away from home as I could possibly get.

A twig snapped and I flinched, knowing that it definitely wasn't me. The bushes began to rustle and footsteps reached my ears. Then, only one word reached my mind; Run. I took off into a quick sprint, though it was a lot slower with my weak state. I could hear whoever was chasing me close behind, only this time it sounded like a lot more footsteps had joined them.

"Oi!

I completely ignored whoever was making an attempt to slow me down and if anything, I sped up - but not without consequences. As I turned a sharp corner, I failed to notice the large branch on the floor, and my foot got caught. And once I slammed down on the ground, I couldn't find the energy to get back up again. It was as though all motivation to keep me running had gone, and all I wanted was to sleep, or rest at least.

Summoning enough energy to roll over onto my back, I let my head fall to the side, feeling nervously sick as multiple pairs of feet came to view. They couldn't take me back - they wouldn't. I might have been lacking energy, but I was sure I had enough to survive a little longer. And the dagger hidden in my boot would definitely help.

"Is she awake?" One of the voices questioned.

"Dunno, looks like."

I attempted to clear my dry throat enough to reply, making one last attempt at pleading. Though it hadn't done much so far.

"Please," My voice came out whispered, a clear sign of my lack-of hydration.

I watched through half-closed eyes as one of the men crouched down. He didn't appear dangerous, but looks could be deceiving. If he realised who I was, he'd surely take me back to my Uncle. Or his men. And I wasn't sure which was worse.

"Who are you?" He asked, his tone soothing.

"Prim...Primrose." I replied, immediately regretting it; My throat itched with every word I spoke.

"Why did you run?"

I shook my head, whimpering out again. "Please, don't take me back."

The man's eyes narrowed in confusion and he leaned down. And as he reached out, I immediately flinched back on instinct. Too many men had touched me since I began running, and none had been gentle or reassuring. Why should this man be any different?.

"I'll not hurt you." He reassured, lightly shaking his head.

"I've heard that before." I muttered, releasing a small chuckle that caused me to wince.

He paused for a moment, glancing at me then whoever had surrounded me. Maybe they weren't as bad as I thought, maybe they wouldn't try to hurt me like so many had before. But they were only 'maybe's', they didn't guarantee my safety. These men had no idea who I really was, or where I came from - and I was determined to keep it that way. They knew my name and that was all they needed to know; I didn't plan on sticking around.

"What do we do with her?" Another voice asked.

"Do we take her back to Djaq?"

"D'you really want a stranger seein' where the camp is?"

"No, but look at her. She's practically asleep."

It was true. The more they spoke, the larger the urge became. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep, without any attempts on my life or virginity. Just some rest, that was all I wanted. I'd give them my necklace if it meant some good, re-energizing sleep.

"Can you walk?" The crouched man asked me.

"I doubt it," I whispered, struggling to keep my eyes open. They itched and stung with tiredness.

The man nodded and paused in thought, sighing to himself. Whoever were surrounding me were silent, most likely waiting for him to make his mind up about what they were going to do with me. But I didn't care, I was too tired to care.

"If we pick you up, will you struggle?" He finally spoke.

"No, I swear. Just let me rest, please." I begged, a slight whimper to my tone.

"Alright. Well lads, who's willing to carry the girl?"

"Not me, you know I'm not the strongest." The man sounded slightly irritated by that fact.

"Me either."

"Oh I'll do it." A gruff voice interjected.

The sound of moving feet reached my ears and the men moved back - except one. The larger man bent down and slid his hands underneath my back, lifting me into his arms. My body ached at the shift in position and I gasped, letting out a small whimper. The man muttered an apology and shifted me in his arms so that my head fell against his shoulder. One arm was placed underneath my knees, while the other wrapped around my back and underneath my right arm, holding me as we moved. I sighed in content and closed my eyes, immediately drifting into a dreamless sleep.

~...~...~...~...~...~

"What do we do when she wakes up?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't thought that part through."

"Well you should, what if she runs off an' tells the Sheriff? What if she tells Guy? We'll 'all hang."

"Calm down Allan."

The voices reached my ears though my eyes remained closed. I wasn't sure how long I'd been sleeping, but I felt a lot better than I had before. My body was no longer aching - though I was sure the soft blankets underneath my body were the cause of it, and I no longer had the urge to fall against a tree and collapse. Although I did feel hungry and thirsty, but I wouldn't let these people know that. I didn't need to owe them anything, it would only make things a lot more difficult.

"You don't have to pretend to be asleep, we won't hurt you." A nearby female voice said.

I reluctantly opened my eyes and took in the scene in front of me. There were five men and one woman, but all were watching me. The looks were a mix of confusion, curiosity, and some untrusting. Not that I blamed them of course; I was the stranger in their home, I'd be very surprised if they weren't worried about my being there.

"How do you feel?" The larger man asked. It was then I remembered him being the one to offer to carry me, something I was very grateful for.

"Better. Thank you for carrying me, you didn't have to." I told him, clearing my throat again.

"Well, with these lot arguin' over who was the weakest, yah probably would've fallen asleep on the floor." He shrugged, grinning at the now-annoyed looking men.

The woman slowly approached me, a cup in her left hand and a plate in her right. She seemed innocent enough. And while she was wearing baggy men's clothes, it was easy for me to tell she was female; Mostly by her feminine voice.

"Here, this will make you feel better."

I hesitated at first, but embarrassingly took both from her as my stomach rumbled loudly. The cup was filled with water, while the plate seemed to have what looked like chicken. But judging by their camp in the forest, I had a feeling it was either a squirrel or a rabbit. Not that I was complaining of course - I was starving. Not eating in two days would do that to a girl. So I dug into my food, eating quicker than I ever had before, and sighing in relief as my stomach rumbled in content.

"You must be hungry." The woman amusedly remarked.

I shrugged, a little embarrassed as I realised they'd all seen my slightly-savage eating. "Sorry."

"Don't apologise to us, especially for eating."

I nodded and quickly devoured my food, feeling a little awkward once I'd finished. They'd all finished their food before I started, so they'd been waiting for me to finish - and I knew they wanted answers. Answers to why I ran, who I was, where I was from, those kind of questions. And while I was a rather good liar, I had to make sure they didn't know too much. Lie or not, they didn't need to know everything about me.

"So, how long have I been sleeping?" I asked them, my voice finally returned to normal.

"Since yesterday morning. You wore yourself out with all the running." One of the men replied.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later. So, who are you? I'd like to know the name's of my saviours."

"I'm Robin, this is Djaq, Will, Much, Little John, and Allan."

"Well, thank you."

"It was no trouble. But, why did you run from us? We wouldn't have hurt you." Robin asked.

I swallowed nervously, wringing my hands as I replied. "I've been running for a week or two, from my Uncle's men. They're determined to find me and I'll not risk it. And I have to ask, where am I exactly?"

"Nottingham Forest. Not the best place to sleep but it's not too bad I suppose." Much replied, shrugging.

"Where are you from?" Will asked, carving something into a small piece of wood.

"I...I cannot say." I stuttered, my stomach in knots as they all stared.

"Why not?" Allan asked, a little annoyed.

"Because you'll send me back home and I cannot - will not, go back. If I return, then I die. And while you are wary of me I am just as wary of you."

"You said your name was Primrose?" Robin asked. I nodded in confirmation.

"Where were you planning on going?" Much questioned, leaning forward slightly.

I shrugged in response. "I'm not sure. All I knew was that I had to run, it didn't matter where, as long as it was away from home. The boat I got on must've brought me to England, then I got here. My money ran out a few days ago, so I have nothing to give you for helping me."

"It's no problem. But I'm afraid you might not survive if we let you go out on your own again." Robin sighed, leaning back against a broken down tree.

"Well she can't stay 'ere, become an outlaw. We got enough girls in the camp as it is." Allan said, gesturing to Djaq and Much.

"Oi!"

"I don't plan on staying, I swear. Just point me in the right direction and you'll never see me again." I reassured them. The fact that they were outlaws was a little worrying, but I couldn't think about that.

"How are we to send you in the right direction if you do not know where you're going?" Robin asked, slightly amused.

"I'm not travelling to a certain destination, just away from home. I can't stop, not with Uncle's men after me."

"Yeah, you keep sayin' 'away-from-'ome' but where is home exactly?" Allan asked, eyes narrowed.

"I can't tell you. Believe me I would if I could but I can't, I won't risk it."

"I'm sorry Primrose, I cannot just let you wander off with nowhere to go. You'll be killed, or worse." Robin said, shaking his head.

"Well I cannot stay! And it isn't as though I could hide away in a nearby village living under an unknown name." I scoffed. But as a small grin appeared on his face, I knew I'd slipped up.

"What if I said you could? If I told you that you could live and work in Nottingham, without having to worry about your Uncle's men?"

"Then I would tell you that you're insane and need to visit a doctor. There is no way, no one would ever take in a travelling girl with no home. Not unless there was something in it for them."

"Girl makes sense," Allan shrugged. "Yah know, for someone that fainted an' all."

I glared at the man. "I didn't faint, I fell asleep. And it wasn't as though I hit my head or anything."

"Don' get mad at me! Your just a little annoyed cause yah fainted."

"I didn't faint!"

"That's _enough _Allan. Primrose, you'll stay here tonight. Tomorrow, we go to Matilda's. She'll surely take you in, she's a good woman." Robin told me, heading towards what appeared to be a bed.

I nodded. "Alright. And thank you, again."

He smiled and nodded in a 'your-welcome' manner before lying down on the makeshift bed, closing his eyes before finally falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as everyone had fully woken up the next morning, I was led through the woods and to this 'Matilda's' cottage. According to Robin it wasn't part of the village, just a few minutes away from Nettlestone. The woman was known as a healer, or herbalist I suppose. And she had a daughter around my age. But it didn't matter how much they told me about her, I couldn't shake off the nervous feeling. I'd been running for a week, so the thought of finally staying put and living normally was slightly disbelieving to me.

"How do you know she won't turn me in to the Sheriff?" I asked, trailing behind the rest of the outlaws.

"D'you always ask this many questions?" Allan asked me, glancing back as he rolled his eyes.

It was true I suppose, I had been asking a lot of questions. But who could blame me? I had every right to question these outlaws, especially after the week I'd had. I couldn't afford to be relieved or grateful, I had to know that I would be safe. Because if my uncle found me, I'd hang for sure. And while I had a lot on my mind, the blue-eyed outlaw wasn't making things any easier on me. Allan was a little snappy around me, always sounded as though I'd made it my main priority to wind him up. But I had to remind myself - I was a stranger to them, they'd taken me in without knowing who I was running from or where I'd come from. So their scepticism was understandable, but he didn't have to constantly act like an ass.

"Forgive me if I'm a little talkative, but I have been running from everyone for about a week. I think I have the right to be curious." I replied.

"Just ignore Allan, he's a little cranky this week." Djaq told me, smirking to herself.

"I'm not cranky!" He exclaimed, earning a look of disbelief from everyone. "Jus' tired is all."

"Well, you don't have to take it out on me." I shrugged.

Allan slowly turned as we walked so that he was now walking backwards, facing me. How he hadn't tripped straight away was quite surprising, but I didn't question it.

"I 'aven't just been takin' it out on you, Much's been gettin' it but then you turned up."

"He's right you know." Much interjected from the front of the group.

I narrowed my eyes at the outlaw. "You're not one of them are you?"

"One of what?" He asked, shaking his head.

"One of those men that get defensive around women because they cannot speak to them. I've met a lot of men like you, unable to 'woo' a women so instead they fight with them to release the anger."

A few members of the group snickered while Allan looked both angry and annoyed. Though while I'd accused him of being that kind of man, I knew it wasn't possible. Because he was obviously one of the best looking men in this group, the other two being Will and Robin. Much didn't have a certain vibe to him that I craved, John was a lot older than me, and Djaq was a girl. But like I'd said, Allan was one of the best looking men in this small band of outlaws, and I had a small feeling he'd be able to get a girl just as easy as the next man. Still, winding him up appeared to be giving me a small sense of entertainment.

"You don't even know me luv," He chuckled, though he sounded the least bit amused.

"I don't have to know you to assume you get defensive around women though, do I?" I asked.

"She does have a point." Much sang.

"Shut up Much, I've been with a lot more women than you 'ave. I mean you've kissed what, two girls?" Allan asked him, turning so that he was walking straight again.

Much halted and spun around to face Allan, looking a little outraged at the statement. The two had been bantering since I'd met them yesterday, never passing the opportunity to one-up the other with words, or swords I suppose. So I assumed it was a usually occurrence, with no one having said anything about it so far anyway.

"I'll have you know I've kissed more than two women!"

Allan scoffed. "Really now? I bet you couldn't name five." He challenged.

Much took a deep breath and shook his head, placing both hands on his waist as he glanced around in thought. It was a little obvious that he couldn't think of more than the two Allan had mentioned, and with the little I knew about the mind of the man, I had a feeling he'd make up a women, in an attempt to prove Allan wrong. But with the outlaw being as cocky and overconfident as he was, I wasn't that Much would want to one-up him.

"Alright then; Elery, Eve... and Erica." Much finally replied, though there was some hesitation as he reached the last name.

"Ooh, _three _women?" Allan mocked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, unlike you I happen to respect women."

"I respect women! I mean, I'm not bein' funny but if they decide to hike up their skirts in the middle of the tavern hallway then who am I to say 'no'?" Allan raised his hands and shrugged.

"Am I right in my assumption that these women were too drunk to tell a dog from a cat?" I spoke up, glancing between Much and Allan.

"You tryin' to say somethin'?"

"What do you think?"

"If you're done children, I'd like to tell you that we are here." Robin suddenly announced.

He gestured in front of us with his arm and I looked, seeing the small cottage in the middle of a meadow. The path we'd taken seemed to be the only path leading towards the house, and I could see no other cottages or houses surrounding it. I only saw trees, and a small stream flowing passed the cottage. Matilda seemed to be growing different herbs and plants in the small garden to the left of the house, and it made the whole place look even more beautiful.

"Wow," I muttered, my eyes widening slightly in awe.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Djaq said, nudging me forward as we once again began walking.

"Understatement."

"Well, at least somethin' keeps 'er quiet." Allan remarked.

"I have to ask, is it safe for me to be staying here? Assuming she lets me of course."

"Of course!" Robin exclaimed, glancing back at me as we walked. "This woman helped to bring me into this world, she can be trusted I promise you. But you have to be truthful, she hates liars... and the Sheriff."

I nodded in understanding and he lightly rapped his knuckles against the wooden door. It almost immediately flew open revealing an older woman, wearing a thick piece of cloth around her head. And while at first she seemed very intimidating, a smile appeared on her face as she recognized Robin, immediately pulling him into a tight hug.

"Nice to see you too Matilda." He greeted, returning the hug.

"It's been years lad, how are yah?" She asked, leaning against the doorway.

"I've been good, I'm an outlaw now but things are good."

Matilda's face fell. "An outlaw? Good grief Robin what trouble 'ave you gotten yourself into?"

"Nothing I can't get myself out of," The outlaw chuckled reassuringly. "So don't worry about it. But, I have a very large favour to ask."

"Right, well come on in then, if the Sheriff catches yah we'll 'all be hanged." She sighed, ushering us all into her cottage.

Matilda closed the door once we were all in the home, turning to lean against it as she stared at Robin. Her house seemed simple enough; Table, chairs, fireplace, hallway leading towards the bedrooms. And the flowers she'd placed in the home brightened it up, made it look less gloomy.

"So, what is it you need?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Robin sighed and looked back, gesturing to me before turning to face Matilda again. "We found her in the forest, she fainted from lack of food and water. She has no where to go and is running from a lot. All I ask is that you take care of her for a few days, keep her fed and she will help you with your work."

Matilda looked at me, then Robin, before coming back to me. She was obviously thinking the favour through, but I knew how much she was risking. If the Sheriff found out who I was, and if Matilda knew about me, then she'd pay just as much as I. Taking in a stray was very risky, especially if you knew nothing about them. So if she turned me away, I wouldn't blame her. I'd merely shrug it off and carry on.

"Come here lass." She said, motioning me forward. At my hesitation she added, "I don't bite, I promise."

I nodded and approached her, stopping once I was a few feet away. Matilda stared at me for a moment or two, taking in my appearance. She even inspected my hair, sighing in thought. I had absolutely no idea what she was doing, but the others seemed to be comfortable with her inspection, so I just had to relax and let her do what she needed to do.

"How old are yah?"

"Seventeen miss," I replied, glancing down shyly.

"Miss? You were brought up in a well-mannered 'ome weren't yah?" She chuckled.

"Yes. But I can't go back, and I cannot tell you the reason either." Matilda nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but I added another apologetic sentence. "It's not because I don't want to, it's because it'll be safer for you, if my searchers do appear."

"I see," She sighed, nodding more to herself. "Well, I suppose I could pass you off as my niece. I have a brother in Scarborough, he doesn't have any children but the Sheriff doesn't need to know that. What's your name?"

"Primrose."

"Beautiful name lass, was there a reason you were given that name?"

"It was my mothers favourite flower."

"I suppose that would explain the shape of your necklace?" She questioned, gesturing towards the golden chain around my neck.

I winced and reached up with my right hand, gently running my thumb across the golden rose that hung from the chain. It had been a gift from my mother and father for my first birthday, and I hadn't taken it off since. It'd originally been hidden down the front of my blouse, but now that they'd all seen it I couldn't hide it again. All I could do was reply.

"Yes."

"Well, here's a tip for yah, don' let the Sheriff or Gisborne see it, you'll never see it again." She told me. I nodded in understanding and tucked the shape back into the front of my blouse, while the chain was hidden by my cloak.

"So, will you take her in?" Robin asked, leaning back against the wall.

"Of course I will!" Matilda exclaimed, shooting him an exasperated look.

"Thank you, I owe you." He grinned.

"Yeah, yah do. Now, I'll be shortenin' your name to Prim."

"Why?" I asked, my eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Because while Primrose is a beautiful name, it's far too long. And I 'ave a daughter called Rosa, so I can't call yah Rose for sake of confusion. But I'll need your help around here, with collecting water from the stream, going with Rosa to the market for meat and food, and helping me with the herb collecting." She said.

"Of course."

"Good, now you'll be sharin' a room with Rosa. But don' worry about her, she's hardly around, spends too much time with that lad of hers."

"Thank you Matilda." Robin said, his tone showing how grateful he was.

"It's nothin', yah know I have a weak spot for runaways. I'll take good care of her, don' yah boys worry." She reassured.

"I ain't worried, jus' grateful to have her taken off our 'ands. Now all we gotta do is figure out 'ow to get rid of the other one." Allan shrugged, nodding towards Much.

"If you don't stop calling me a woman," Much sighed in irritation.

"You'll what?" Allan challenged, taking a step towards him.

"Oi! There'll be no fightin' in me 'ouse! Take it outside!" Matilda exclaimed, lightly pushing the men away from each other.

"Don't worry about them Matilda, they're at it all the time. But we have to go now, and I thank you again for helping her." Robin said.

Matilda shrugged and opened the door, allowing them to exit the cottage. "It's no problem lad, an' don't be a stranger."

The outlaws exited the cottage until only Robin remained. He turned to me, "You'll be safe here, don't worry about anything."

"Thank you for this." I said, tilting my head slightly in relief.

"It is no problem Primrose, and if you ever need us don't be afraid to call. We'll hear you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Good. Well, till we meet again Prim. Nice to see you again Matilda." He said, inching towards the door.

"Good to see you too lad, an' don't worry about the lass, I'll take good care of her, she'll be well-treated here." Matilda reassured.

Robin nodded and waved before leaving the cottage, closing the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

~ Matilda's Cottage ~  
~ Three Weeks Later ~

It had been three week since I'd arrived at Matilda's, and so far everything had worked out great. No one had come by looking for me - yet, and not a single person had questioned Matilda about where I'd come from. A few villagers in the market had asked her who I was and how I knew her, but when she repeated the lie once again they took it and carried on. And while I missed home, I found myself settling into England very well; Being able to speak fluent English also helped. Thankfully I hadn't had the misfortune of meeting the Sheriff yet, but I had seen his main guard - Guy of Gisborne - hanging around the villages and market. But to my relief he paid little attention to me, glancing once before inspecting the others surrounding him. It was almost unbelievable how easily I managed to fit in with Matilda and Rosa, and while I was still ready to run if needed, I found myself becoming more relaxed as each day passed. However, the nagging voice in my mind, the one telling me my Uncle was still searching, wouldn't relent.

I knelt down by the stream and lowered the bucket in, waiting patiently for it to fill. Matilda was out helping someone in the village, so it was up to me to bring in the water. Rosa was back at the cottage sleeping - she'd been awfully sick for the passed few days, so I refused to let her do any of the work until she was better. The girl was a year older than me and just as kind as her mother, so it was only fair for me to do some of the work while her mother was away.

A whizzing noise reached my ears and I flinched, looking to my right and seeing an arrow lodged into the nearest tree. The arrow had been shoved through a small roll of bread, so the food now rested in the middle of the arrow.

"Ass," I muttered, lifting the now-full bucket and placing it next to me before approaching the arrow.

"Thought you'd be 'ungry."

I rolled my eyes as I yanked the arrow out of the tree, sliding the bread off and biting off a small piece. The former-nuisance had been showing up at the cottage for about two weeks now. At first the visits had only been to get on my nerves, usually by shooting arrows too close for comfort, or shooting them into the bucket and creating multiple holes. But the short meetings were becoming less and less annoying, and a little more tolerable. He wasn't as closed up or snappy as before, though he did love to shoot the odd remark now and again.

"I am, haven't had breakfast this morning. You've eaten haven't you?" I asked him, sitting down near the bank.

Allan shrugged as he leaned against the tree on the other side of the stream, crossing his arms. "Yeah."

"Can I assume that you're not only here to give me breakfast?"

"Well, you can assume that if you want."

"So, what _is _your reason for being here? Shouldn't you be out robbing some nobles?"

"Eh, it ain't easy you know! But no, no robbin' today. There's a little trouble back at camp." He admitted. But as he did, he glanced around him nervously, causing me to narrow my eyes.

"What kind of trouble?"

"If I tell you, you can't laugh, it's serious!"

I rolled my eyes. "I won't laugh, I swear."

He nodded, content with my answer. "We found some kind of... witchcraft tool in a carriage that got caught in the storm last week. Robin don' believe me about it obviously but Little-John's scared to death by it."

"What kind of tool was it?" I asked, finally done with my bread.

"A mask, with needles goin' into it. It's pretty scary, I doubt you'd be able to stick around it."

"Don't be so sure."

I got to my feet and bent down to retrieve the bucket, using both hands to carry it with how heavy it was. Our talks were never very long, just long enough to keep both of us occupied. The stream was quite wide, so we were always on different sides, but that was better I suppose. Because I was sure that if we were around each other for a certain amount of time, we'd probably kill each other.

"Listen Prim, can I ask you a favour?" He sheepishly questioned.

"That all depends, what's this favour?"

"If Robin gives it the okay, can we keep the mask 'ere? Jus' until we find out who it belongs to, the groups pretty shaken with it in the camp."

I sighed in thought before finally nodding. "Sure, why not? Matilda's away in Nottingham village so I suppose I could keep it here. Just make sure you get it out of here by the time she returns."

"Course." He shrugged.

"Alright then, I guess I'll speak to you later then."

He nodded and I turned, making my way back towards the cottage. But as a whizzing noise once again reached my ears, I jumped as the arrow landed a few inches away from my feet.

"Allan!" I exclaimed in irritation, turning to glare at the outlaw.

"Bye Prim," He waved, chuckling as he disappeared into the forest.

~...~...~...~...~...~

A loud knocking sound echoed through the house and I sighed, wiping my hands on the rag before heading towards the door. I'd been cooking for both Rosa and myself, but the girl couldn't stop throwing up. When her mother returned, she needed to take a good look at her daughter, and hopefully Rosa wouldn't have a fever or anything. Though I was sure if she did her mother could help her.

I jumped as I opened the door, recoiling at the sight of the horrific mask. It was black and had holes for the eyes and mouth. But there were multiple needles going through the top part of the mask, where the brain would be located. It was quite disturbing, and I was pretty sure I was going to attack whoever was holding it in front of me.

"What is that?" I gasped, moving back to give the outlaw room to come through.

"This is a mask I found in a carriage, Allan told me you were willing to keep it here for now?" Robin asked, lowering the object onto the table.

"Yes, of course. You're alone?" I asked him, realising that he'd closed the door behind himself.

"Little-John will not leave the forest, he's painted a cross to a tree and won't move away from it. Much and Djaq are busy keeping watch over a strange guest in the camp, I've sent Will into Nottingham to find out what kind of man is in the castle, and Allan refused to go anywhere the mask goes." He explained, sitting down in one of the chairs.

I nodded in understanding and sat down opposite him, staring at the mask. Robin appeared to be doing the same, though he seemed to be deep in thought. I slowly dragged the mask towards me and fiddled with the needles. It wasn't black-magic, if anything it was a torcher device. But I could see why Robin's men would be so afraid of it. Just touching the thing was making me uncomfortable.

"It's not anything to do with the devil, you can reassure John of that." I told him, lightly prodding the end of a needle.

"I've tried. But, how do you know it's not? Why aren't you afraid?" Robin asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Because while I am no witch, I had a curiosity for the art when I was a little girl. The thought of casting spells to make boys fall in love with me, to turn evil men into frogs - it was all very seductive for me. But please don't tell your men that, they'll try to burn me." I admitted, placing the needle back into the mask.

"I understand, though I wouldn't tell Allan about the frog thing." He said, slightly amused.

"Why?"

"His drunk Uncle once told him a tale about seeing someone turn into a frog. Allan insists it happened but," Robin shrugged and I nodded in understanding.

"I'll not tell him. But I've read a lot of books on the art of witchcraft - black magic included, and I can tell you right now that this is no witchcraft device. However you may want to leave out the part about how I know."

"I promise not to tell them about that. But thank you for keeping this here, I know how uncomfortable it must be."

I shook my head. "It's not that bad, I've seen worse. But you must get it out of here by tomorrow at least, that is when Matilda returns."

"Of course."

I nodded and sighed as the sounds of Rosa's retching filled the house.

"Is she all right?" Robin asked, slightly worried.

"I'm not sure, she's been quite ill for two weeks now. But Matilda will take a look when she comes back. You should go, find out who's in that castle and what this mask is used for. It'll make your men feel better I promise."

Robin nodded and stood from the chair, approaching the door. "Alright, thank you Prim."

"It's no problem, especially after what you've done for me." I shrugged, opening the door for him.

"You're comfortable here? No men have come by looking?"

"Not one. Though I am still on alert, it's not as bad as it was three weeks ago. So I thank you for bringing me here."

"It was no problem, I assure you. But hopefully I'll be able to get that mask of your hands by tomorrow at the latest, and maybe get back my men while I'm at it." He sighed, exiting the house.

"Good, and be careful sneaking into the village."

"We've done it many times Prim, we'll be fine."

"Alright. Goodbye." I waved.

He nodded and gave a slight wave before heading back towards the forest. I closed the door and sighed to myself, heading back into Rosa's room.

~...~...~...~...~...~

The next day I found myself stood in the corner of the room, surrounded by outlaws. Rosa was asleep in her bedroom and thankfully had no idea what was happening. Meanwhile, a well-dressed Saracen man had been forced down into the seat, facing the mask. The rest of the group spread into different parts of the room, Djaq and Much were not here, but I noticed Allan and Little-John back as far away from the mask as they could. Robin wasn't lying when he told me they were scared.

"What have you done to it? I cannot present this now?!" The Saracen man exclaimed, pulling the mask closer to himself.

"That's a gift?" I asked disbelievingly, moving forward so that I could sit down opposite him.

"It was, a peace offering."

"Peace? Let's stick needles in his head and see how he likes it." Allan snapped, obviously very scared of the mask.

The Saracen glanced at Allan and scoffed, looking at Robin. "This is what happens when cousins marry." I snickered at the look on Allan's face while the Saracen man continued to explain the mask. "This is a model for teaching, needles placed on certain parts of the body can cure all sorts of elements."

"Pfft, sounds like dodgy magic to me."

"It's not magic." I groaned, rolling my eyes at him.

"An' 'ow would you know?!"

"This is science," The Saracen interjected. "Not magic."

"So, you're a physician then?" Will asked.

"You see John? A _physician, _that's all." Robin told the larger man, who seemed a little more relaxed with the explanation.

"I'm not a physician. I'm an ambassador. This gift for John is a gift of healing, to celebrate our new peace treaty."

"Prince John wants peace?!" Robin exclaimed in disbelief.

"That man wants a lot of things, peace is not one of them." I insisted, shaking my head as I laced my fingers on the table.

"_I _want peace. The holy lands are drenched in blood, thousands of men die on both sides, this is not the will of Allah. It is the duty of all good men to put an end to this barbarity. So I come to negotiate with Prince John and the Sheriff." The Saracen explained.

"If peace is what you want, then Prince John and the Sheriff are the last people you should be speaking to. Whatever they've told you is a lie."

"And how can I believe what you say? You and your band of superstitious, idiotic, outlaws. Now I demand you let me go."

"I'm not bein' funny mate but we've just caught yah!" Allan exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Let me go, or let the death of thousands be on your conscience."

Robin sighed in thought and the sound of horse hooves thudding against the ground reached my ears. _Matilda was back_. I jumped up and glanced through the window, wincing as my thoughts were confirmed.

"Who is it?" Robin asked.

"Matilda, you have to go now." I told them.

"How do we do that? There's only one door." Allan stated.

"You'll have to climb through the window, it's the only option. If she see's you in here she'll go insane, please don't get me kicked out." I begged him, practically shoving him towards the window. "And take the mask with you!"

Thankfully Robin took hold of the mask, making sure the men got through the window before he did. "Thank you Prim."

I nodded. "It's alright, now go."

He disappeared as the door opened and I flinched, spinning around to face Matilda.

"Hi, how was the trip?"

"Could've been worse I s'pose. How's Rosa?" She asked, placing her bag down on the table.

"Could be better, she can't seem to hold anything down these days. You should take a look," I shrugged.

"Alright then. Have you been okay here, by yourself?" Matilda paused as she headed towards Rosa's bedroom, awaiting my answer.

"Of course, it's been pretty quiet around here."

She nodded and headed down the hall while I sighed in relief, falling into the chair.


	4. Chapter 4

~ Matilda's Cottage ~  
~ A Few Days Later ~

"_Please _let me help Prim."

I merely smiled down at Rosa as I pulled on my light-brown cloak, lightly shaking my head. As it turns out, Rosa was not ill, but pregnant. Her sweetheart had gone off to fight in the war before having the chance to find out, so she was an only parent in this so far. Matilda and I were helping out of course, but it wasn't hard to tell that Rosa missed the boy. And hopefully he would come back alive. But until then it was only the three of us, or two when Matilda was out doing her job. And since she was doing that right now, I was once again in charge of the housework and so on, which I found strange since I was the youngest. But I refused to let Rosa do anything during this pregnancy, since I'd hear too much work could risk the baby.

"Oh c'mon, it's just a pop into Nottingham town. Let me go, please." She pleaded.

"What if someone knocks into you? What if you injure the baby?" I asked, sitting down at the foot of the bed.

"You worry too much Prim," She chuckled. "Jus' like mum."

"I worry the right amount. But I have to admit, the ride into town may do you some good." Rosa perked up but I carried on before she could ramble again. "_But, _you cannot tell your mother. She'll string me up if she finds out I let you out alone."

She nodded frantically and rose to her feet, tugging on her own cloak as I removed mine. There was no point in the both of us going, things needed to be done in the cottage. I still had to water Matilda's vegetables and herbs, including some flowers she insisted on growing. My former chore - now Rosa's - was going to town to buy meet. Not many people were getting sick these days, and while it was a good thing, on another hand it wasn't. Matilda had no job if no one was sick, dying, or giving birth. And pregnancy's were becoming rare around here, especially with the taxes being so high. No one wanted to risk spending any more money; so no children. The other problem was that soon Rosa would have to go back to working as a servant in the Lords and Ladies homes, or working in the castle. And with her pregnant now, I knew she couldn't do it, which meant I would have to. And I couldn't risk anyone recognizing me, not now when I was so happy where I was.

"Should I take the cart?" She asked as we both exited the house.

"I think it'd be best. That way you don't risk falling off and bringing the meet home will be easier" I told her.

Rosa nodded and took the small bag of coins from me, climbing into the cart. She took off down the path and into the forest, once again leaving me alone at the cottage. It wasn't that I didn't like being alone - if anything I enjoyed having time to myself, but back home there had always been someone around, even if they didn't speak it was nice to know someone was there. But I couldn't lounge around anymore, I had to work and make myself useful while I stayed here. And with Matilda teaching me small tricks, I was becoming more and more useful.

I headed out towards the stream, two buckets in hand. Matilda had thankfully managed to get more, with Allan constantly putting holes in our previous ones. I'd even considered having special buckets made with armour to avoid it happening again, but we didn't have that kind of money.

I knelt down by the stream and lowered the bucket, waiting patiently for it to fill as I glanced towards the other side. He hadn't been by for at least three days now, and I found myself a little disappointed with it. Our conversations had been getting longer, they were only about what he and the other outlaws were up to or how I was in the cottage, but I enjoyed them. Allan didn't ask about where I'd come from, why I was running, or who I'd been running from, and I enjoyed his company even more because of it - not that I'd ever tell him that. The blue-eyed outlaw was cocky enough, he didn't need more compliments to add to it. Being alone in the cottage was slightly depressing, so without knowing it, he'd been my only source of human conversations for a while now.

"I'm not bein' funny but you look a little bored over there."

I jumped but smiled slightly as I looked up, the familiar figure exiting the forest to stand at the edge of the bank.

"Chores aren't meant to be fun you know. Maybe you'd know a little about it if you did any work back at your camp." I retorted, hiding just how happy - and slightly exited - I was to see him.

"Oi!" He exclaimed. "I do some work, I rob rich people, that's work enough!"

"Yes, but it's not a chore is it? You enjoy what you do and you can't lie about that, I see that little bit of happiness come through when you tell me about your... working days."

"Yeah, well, I don' exactly live by the words 'all-work-no-play'. An' you shouldn't either."

I rolled my eyes. "Not all us have the privileges you do, Allan. We work to survive, if we don't we're hung. It's as simple as that."

"I'm not bein' funny but if you think livin' in the forest 'as it's privileges you're wrong." He objected, shaking his head as he crossed his arms.

"You're free, to do whatever you want and when you want to do it. How is that not a privilege?"

"Cause it ain't exactly like that. I mean, yeah we do what we want when we want to, an' I suppose it's good an' all. But we've got people huntin' us down, determined to string us up in Nottingham Castle. So, we gotta watch what we do. I've swung before an' I ain't all too eager to do it again." He shrugged, sitting down.

My eyebrows raised slightly in shock. He'd hung before?.

"How did you get out?"

"Robin saved us. Me, Will, Will's brother an' some other kid. Became an outlaw that day, mind you I was 'alfway to bein' one before all o' this."

"I can't imagine that, being hung I mean. The thought of dying so slowly - so painfully, it's terrifying. And nearly everything we do is a risk, things were so much simpler back home." I sighed, pulling out the now-full bucket and lowering the empty one into the water.

"Where is 'ome exactly?" He hesitatingly questioned. Allan probably wasn't expecting an answer, but was willing to ask anyway.

"Wales." I finally answered, after a moment of thought and hesitation. It couldn't hurt, telling him where I was from, he wouldn't figure me out from it. "My home is in Wales."

He nodded, glancing down at the running water. He seemed quite shocked that I'd answered him, since I'd been so closed up until now, but he seemed quite content with it. I just hoped he didn't ask another.

"Fair enough. On another note, I suppose you've 'eard the good news?" He asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyes narrowed in confusion.

"The King's coming back."

My eyes immediately widened and I paused, unable to believe it. The king was returning to England? He was finally coming back?. Maybe now things would return to normal, to the better times when he was around. I'd be able to go home, and while I didn't personally know the Sheriff here, I knew he'd have a lot of bad things happening to him, if enough people stood up and spoke of course. But still, I couldn't believe it. He'd been gone a long time, too long even. So to be told that he was coming back, it a little weird for me.

"Prim?"

I looked up at a confused - and slightly concerned - Allan. But then I realised I'd been in too much shock to remember he was there, so I shook my head to get back to reality. The king might've been coming home, but no one could know who I was. Because it could all be a rumour and then what would I do? Someone would turn me in and I'd be hanged for sure.

"Sorry," I muttered, pulling out the full pail. "Just a little surprised."

"No worries, we all were. Much wouldn' stop ramblin' o' course." He shrugged, tugging at the grass.

"Are you happy? About the King's return?"

"Well, Robin'll get 'is lands back I guess. Much keeps tellin' us about some lodge Robin's gonna give 'im..."

"That wasn't what I asked." I interrupted, tilting my head slightly.

Allan sighed and nodded. "Yeah I know. But, what's gonna 'appen to the rest of us? Little-John's got nowhere to go, 'is family left days ago. Will talks about gettin' turnin' into a carpenter, an' god-knows what's gonna 'appen to me and Djaq. I doubt the King'll give us lot lodges."

I chewed my bottom lip, resisting the urge to tell him what I really thought. Because I knew the King may give him that if spoken to the right way, or given evidence that they deserved a good noble-ish life. But I wouldn't risk myself now, not until I was sure he could be trusted with that kind of information. I did like Allan, but I didn't know if I could full trust him yet, especially with my largest secret.

"You make a good point. Have you spoken to anyone else about it?"

"Well, I talked to Will, he seems to 'ave the same idea, same disappointment about it."

"Did you talked to your leader about it? He might be able to help you, if he does get his lands back." I suggested, earning a shake of the head from him.

"Nah, Robin's pretty busy now. What with Marian gettin' married on Saturday." He said.

"Marian? As in 'Sir-Edward-the-former-Sheriff's' daughter, that Marian?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. You been catchin' up."

I shrugged, smiling slightly. "I've had to, with being stuck here and everything."

"You don't like it around 'ere?"

"It's good and while I enjoy being around Matilda and Rosa, it's not home."

"Yeah, I get what you mean."

"You do?"

"Yeah. O' course I don' miss the stealin', fightin', an' woman-stealin', but it's still 'ome."

"Your home sounds a lot different to mind." I told him.

Allan nodded and stared at the floor for a moment, seemingly in thought. He didn't seem all that pleased with the King coming back, but I understood to a certain extent. With the King returning, Robin would have no reason to rob from the rich and give to the poor, he'd be returning to his home in Locksley. And Much would be getting a lodge somewhere. So for the rest of them, it was a return to their old lives - their lacklustre lives. And I wasn't quite sure what Djaq would do, where she would go.

"Yeah well your 'ome was probably better than mine 'cause you're a girl." He grinned.

I looked at him through narrowed eyes. "What difference does it make if I'm a girl?!"

He merely shrugged. "Girls got it easy."

"Hardly," I scoffed, shaking my head. This man had absolutely no idea. "Women where I come from have no choice in what they do - no say. We're promised to a man that we don't know, don't love, don't even feel attracted to. But we cannot say anything or do anything about it. Back home I was told what to do, what to wear, how to speak, who I would and wouldn't talk to, and who I would eventually marry. Everything in my life was planned; Everything but my running away, that was a split-second decision, a life-or-death matter."

Allan looked slightly taken-aback by my objection, so I knew I had to lighten things up just a little. Get him back to his usual self, as annoying as it may be.

"Men have the easy option." That seemed to do it for him.

"Oh, you've lost it luv. Men 'ave to work, bring money in, do everythin'. All you women do is stay 'ome and cook...!"

"Have you ever cooked?" I interrupted him, leaning back on my palms.

"Well, once, but still..."

"Then you can't say anything about that. Think about it Allan. Men do work, and I respect that I really do. But I was talking about _noble _men. Those kind of men are given money by their families as if it grows on trees. They're selfish, rude, arrogant, and very bossy. All they want is a beautiful wife to show off, and when the time comes for children they do nothing except tell other nobles how good they have it. Their wives stay home and take care of the children, which is a very hard job..."

"So, you got any kids?" He asked, being the one to interrupt _me _this time.

"No," I answered, though slightly hesitant.

"Then you can't say anythin' about it." To say he looked proud of his comeback was an understatement. Throwing my own words back at me seemed to amuse him.

I laughed - in slight disbelief - and rolled my eyes, knowing he was right. And for once, I didn't know what to say to him. But thankfully, he'd taken my mind off the whole 'the-king-is-returning' fiasco.

"Besides, I don' plan on gettin' married anytime soon. My life is too fun now, don' need some old nag messin' it up."

"Me either."

He chuckled and I got to my feet, bending to pick up both pails of water. They were heavy, but I'd slowly become used to the weight.

"I should get back." I sighed.

"Yeah I should get back too, got some stuff what needs doin'." He shrugged, also standing.

"Hmm. Rosa's out getting the meat, it's up to me to water the plants. The last thing we need is for Matilda to run out of herbs, god-knows we need the money she brings in. Or risk being hanged for not paying on time."

"Bye." I nodded, turning and heading back towards the cottage.

"Eh Prim!"

"Hmm?" I turned, hoping he would get out whatever he wanted to say so that I could drop the heavy pails in the house quicker.

"If the Sheriff did - hopefully he won't, but if yah were arrested, I'd come for yah." He smirked, leaning against the nearest tree.

I smiled and nodded, replying to him before I carried on towards the cottage.

"I know."

* * *

Author's Note:

Hi guys! I know there hasn't been much action or whatnot in this story, but things will be getting heated soon - not romantic heated though. And hopefully I'll be able to throw in a few Allan/Prim scenes for you.

Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews, favourites, and follows so far. They mean a lot, and if you can, keep them coming for me. :) Review this chapter if you can, thanks guys!.


	5. Chapter 5

~ Matilda's Cottage ~  
~ Saturday Morning ~

I sat down in the grass, legs crossed as I silently made a small daisy chain. Today was the day the King returned... apparently anyway. And for once, there was nothing for me to do today. Matilda didn't have anyone to attend to, so she was doing the chores today, and Rosa was still sleeping. So here I was, alone. I could have stayed inside, talked to Matilda, but I needed to think about what was happening today; My Father was coming home. Still, back or not, it didn't mean I could go back home to Wales. My uncle would most likely have men waiting down at the docks, searching for me, so I couldn't go home yet. But maybe there was a way for me to go into Nottingham Castle without being recognized, maybe I could see my father and tell him how much had changed and why I'd come to England in the first place. But chances were slim, only nobles would be allowed in to see the King, not peasants like me.

An arrow suddenly lodged itself into the ground to my right, but for once, I didn't jump. Being shot at was becoming a regular occurrence, and while at first it was worrying, I now knew he was a good enough shot that he wouldn't accidentally shoot me. Although sometimes I did have my doubts.

"No work today?"

I shrugged and looked up at him, taking a break from my daisy-chain.

"Not today, Matilda's home so she's doing everything. Rosa's sleeping but I'm pretty sure she'll wake up complaining again."

"Preggers not feelin' so good?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Understatement."

Allan chuckled and nodded, looking around in thought. I concentrated on my daisy-chain, smiling slightly as I finally placed the two ends together, creating a head-piece - I'd been working on it all morning.

"What's that?"

"Daisy-chain," I shrugged, looking up at him. "Used to make them back home."

"Bit girlie ain't it?"

"If you hadn't noticed by now Allan, I am a girl."

"Oh I've noticed, but shouldn' you be in the village or somethin'? Waitin' for the King to come by?" He asked, finally sitting down near the bank.

"I should, but I'm not." I sighed, placing the daisy-chain on my head.

"How come?"

"Why aren't you there?" I asked, desperate to steer our conversation away from my intentions.

"Because I'm goin' to Nottingham Castle to see 'im. There's a rebellion thing goin' on it's a long story." He shrugged.

I tilted my head in curiosity; This was news to me. "Rebellion?"

"Uh, bunch o' Lords bandin' against the Sheriff, they plan on lettin' the King know about his disloyalty. Thought you were catchin' up?"

"I _am _catching up. It's not my fault too much goes on around here, there's a new problem everyday, most of them caused by you outlaws or the Sheriff. Besides, I don't need to know every little thing going on England. As long as I'm safe here I've got no problems." I told him, shrugging my shoulders.

"That's fair enough I s'pose. But I gotta say, you don' seem too 'appy about the King comin' back." He admitted, eyes narrowed in curiosity.

"I am happy, it's just a little hard to believe."

"Yeah, you're right on that one. Still, you gonna go 'ome when he gets back? Things might've changed, whoever you're runnin' from might stop chasin' yah."

"I doubt it," I sighed, shaking my head. "It would take a lot for that man to stop chasing me. One mans return won't stop it."

"Well it ain't just one man though is it?" He said. "It's the King."

I nodded and leaned my left side against a tree, occupying myself by pulling the grass out of the ground. Strange, I know, but I always wound up doing it when thinking about certain things, or anything really.

"Still, you don't know my Uncle."

"Allan,"

We both looked to see Will come out from behind the trees, looking a little awkward as he stood; He probably thought he'd disturbed a serious conversation or something.

"It's time to go."

Allan nodded in understanding and got to his feet, brushing the grass away from his lower half.

"Yeah, alright." He glanced back at me apologetically, as though he was sorry he had to leave for Nottingham Castle.

"Just go, I'll be fine here. Make sure you come tomorrow, though, tell me how it went?" I asked.

"Course."

I nodded and he turned, about to head away with Will. But I knew I had to tell him the message, the one I'd been determined to let the King know. But I knew I wouldn't be allowed into the castle, and since he was, maybe he could pass it on for me. Assuming the King let him speak, which I was sure he would, my father could be an understanding man sometimes.

"Allan!"

"Yeah?" He asked, turning back to face me. I motioned him forward and he thankfully did so.

"If you see the King... I need you to, give him a message for me." His eyes narrowed in confusion, but he said nothing - thankfully. "If - when, you see him. Tell him that the will of Briallen isn't in the Castle."

Allan tilted his head, much like Will did as soon as I asked him to pass on my message. Both men had no idea what I was talking about, but I knew they were curious, and slightly sceptical. But I didn't have time to let them know, the King _would _know, and that was all that matters.

"What will?"

"Just please pass it on." I begged. But as he went to open his mouth, I added onto my plead. "For me. You do this and I'll owe you, just _please _do that for me."

"Fine, but I can't guarantee he'll listen to me." He shrugged.

"I know, just try and it'll mean everything to me. Thank you."

"Alright, I'll see you later then."

I nodded and both men disappeared again, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

~...~...~...~...~...~

It hadn't eve been an hour later when I heard Matilda frantically yelling my name, telling me to get my bum back to the cottage. I had no idea what was going on, but it had to bee important if she was yelling about it.

"What?" I asked her once I finally reached the cottage, resting my hands against the doorway.

"The King is coming." She replied, pulling on her cloak.

"Uh," I paused, my eyes narrowed in confusion. "Yes, I knew all about that. But why are you running around like we're about to meet... well, the King?"

Matilda rolled her eyes at me and faced a tired-looking Rosa, tying the strings of her cloak for her.

"Because while we're not meetin' 'im, we'll be seein' 'im."

"What?!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide in disbelief. "How? I mean... how?"

"There's only one main road leading towards Nottingham, an' it just so happens to be close by. So we are going to that road, to see the King ride in."

I nodded and waited patiently for the two; This means that my father would see me. Though it also meant that I didn't have to give that message to Allan, which would most-likely make him very wary of me now. But still, I'd finally see my father. Of course I'd planned out the reunion in my head, all of them being set back home in Wales. But I'd take what I could get, he'd been gone far too long, and we had a lot to discuss.

When we finally did reached the main road, it was just in time. The King road down, five or six guards surrounding him. And as he passed by, Matilda smiled, while Rosa seemed to be resisting the urge to fall asleep. But in that moment, I knew something was wrong. Because as he rode passed, he glanced at each of us, and still rode on without a word; He couldn't have been the real King. And if that was true, a more worrying question appeared in my mind. Why was a fake King here? What could possibly be going on in Nottingham Castle. But I didn't have time to ponder over it, I had to get to the castle, warn the outlaws. Because if they were as good as Allan claimed they were, they'd be able to do something.

"Prim! Where are yah goin'?!" Matilda called as I took off down the road, the same way the 'King' had gone.

"I have to get to the Castle!"

"Why?!"

"It's not the King!" Was my last reply.

~...~...~...~...~...~

Once I turned yet another corner I paused, bending over to catch my breath. Running for as long as I had before did some good, but not a lot. There was absolutely no way for me to reach Nottingham in time, I'd probably faint from lack-of air.

"Prim?"

I stood straight and panted, staring at the man in front of me. He seemed to be heading in the opposite direction, holding the reigns of his horse. And judging by the luggage placed on the horse, I had a small feeling he didn't plan on coming back. And later on, I'd question him about it. But right now I had bigger things on my mind, the main one being my problem with getting to Nottingham on time.

"Robin? Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving. Where are _you _going?" He asked, sounding a lot more down than usual.

"Well, I'm _trying _to get to Nottingham Castle. I thought you'd be there too, with Allan and the others." He was about to reply but I cut him off, knowing that I had something else to tell him. "Not now. You probably won't believe me, but the King..."

"The King is an imposter!"

Much's loud voice echoed through the woods, along with the sound of a constantly ringing bell. How he knew was beyond me, but at least now I knew that there was someone who'd believe me.

"Yes...that." I shrugged, gesturing to the way to Locksley village, where the bells seemed to be coming from.

Robin said nothing, his eyes narrowed as he pulled the satchels away from the horses saddle. I placed both hands on my hips as he mounted the horse, turning to face the way I'd been going before turning to look down at me.

"Well, hop on."

At the demand I jumped and nodded, grabbing his hand to get on the horse. My arms tightened around his waist as we took off towards Locksley village. It seemed there was a wedding going on, though I soon realised why when I remembered Allan telling me about Lady Marian's marriage to Guy of Gisborne. It had been quite a shock to find out who she would be marrying, considering the bad things many people had told me about him, but I shook it off, thinking they were only rumours. Though judging by the fact that I now spotted the lady herself running out of the chapel, I reconsidered those rumours.

"Master!" I tilted my body to the left, just enough to see Much stumble out of the shallow river, covered in plants. "It's not the King, he's an imposter!"

"A trap, I knew it. Who's there?!"

"Everyone," Much panted. "The gang."

"Robin, my father, he leads the rebellion." Marian exclaimed, standing next to the horse while looking up at him.

I groaned and jumped down from the horse, turning to the noble woman. "You ride with him, I'll ride with Much." She nodded and Robin pulled her onto the horse, immediately taking off down the road.

"Prim?!" Much exclaimed, voice full of confusion as he grabbed a random horse.

"No time, help me up." I demanded. He nodded and held out his hand, helping me up onto the horse behind him.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hi guys! This was just a random filler-chapter, I like to keep them all even so I'm posting another chapter right after this one. So, you don't have to review this one if you don't want to. But please review the next one. :D


	6. Chapter 6

~ Nottingham Castle ~

We approached the castle faster than I thought, and all of a sudden my nervousness kicked in. What if someone recognized me?. I hadn't seen the Sheriff yet, but a few Sheriff's had visited my fathers castle back in Wales, and a lot of them had seen me. So if this Sheriff was one of them, I'd be recognized immediately. Unless of course my peasant clothes threw him off - but I doubted it. And I knew that if I was seen, and had the good fortune of escaping, then the whole of England would be after me. Obviously this Sheriff was voting for my Uncle to be King, and if he was as dedicated to John as I had a feeling he was, then he'd do anything to get me into the dungeons. And to do that? He'd put out a reward. Not a reward for the Princess of England of course, a reward for a small peasant girl, and he'd spin a story to go along with it.

Running had been easy so far, but with the whole of England after me? There's no way I'd survive it.

"We can't be seen together." Robin told Marian as we reached the gates. They'd been securely closed, two guards making sure no one tried to sneak in.

"We'd never get in anyway." Much sighed.

"I'll try the East gate." Marian declared, hopping down from Robin's horse.

"We'll take the West." Robin said, before turning to me. "Prim, go with her, and be careful."

I nodded in understanding and climbed down from Much's horse. The two men rode in the opposite direction, while Marian and I headed for the East gate. Though I prayed she knew her way around the castle, because I'd never been inside. And the last thing we needed was to be lost in a castle.

"Marian!"

We both looked back to see Robin coming back towards us. And I stayed where I was as Marian ran towards him, the two sharing a passionate kiss once they finally reached each other. At first, I was a little taken aback. The woman had been set to marry another man today, so seeing her kissing Robin was quite surprising. But then I remembered where I was; This was England, there was more drama and death here than anywhere else in the world - the Holy Lands included. But still, Robin and Marian? The outlaw and the noble-woman? It seemed like a romantic poem written by some love-struck woman. One that could only end badly.

"Lets go." She said, lightly tugging my arm as she ran. I sighed and nodded, following her around the corner and along the wall of the castle.

~...~...~...~...~...~

"This is the first - and last time, I decide to try and help outlaws." I grumbled.

Unfortunately, the East Gate had been being guarded. But Marian had luckily knew another way in - how she knew about it I didn't want to know. The hole in the wall was quite small, once you removed a few loose bricks, but still we had to crawl through on our stomachs. Marian decided to take the lead, and judging by the fact there were few cobwebs, I had the feeling it'd been used one-too-many times.

"I tell myself that all the time, but I never mean it." She chuckled, grunting quietly as she carried on moving.

"How long have you been helping them?" I asked her. If we were going to be stuck crawling through this small space for god-only-knows how long, I was making conversation.

"Too long if you ask me."

I nodded, wincing as I scratched my arm against a sharp stone below me.

"That sounds fair. But is it always like this? Crawling through dark spaces to save people from a King that isn't really a King?"

Marian suddenly stopped, causing me to as well. Then a creaking sound was heard, along with her muttering to herself. But then she started crawling again, and I sighed in relief once I realised we'd reached the end.

"I don't usually crawl through a dark space, but it is always this... dramatic, I suppose." She told me as I crawled out of the space, standing and brushing myself down.

"I give up, I'll just leave them to it next time." I sighed, crossing my arms as I looked around.

"Try and they will not leave you be. Come on."

I groaned but followed her through the deserted courtyard and into the castle. The guards must've been wherever the 'King' was, keeping everyone inside safe. Though I had a strong feeling they didn't know he was an imposter, along with everyone else in that room. And while I was scared, I was slightly relieved to know that Marian knew her way around the castle. Again, I wasn't sure how she knew, but I wasn't intending to find out. All I wanted was to help as much as I could, then get back home... well, Matilda's home I mean. That small isolated Cottage was becoming more of a home the longer I was there, and I wasn't sure if the fact depressed me or made me happy.

"It's a trap! It's a trap! This is not the King!"

_Much_, I thought. They'd made it into the castle, most likely a lot easier than we had. Those outlaws were probably always sneaking into this place, so they knew every way in and way out.

"It appears we're a little late." Marian sighed, taking deep breaths as we turned to the doors leading into the room. The sounds of scuffles, thudding, and Much's very loud shouts were enough to let us know this was the right room.

"Well, better late than never I suppose." I shrugged, pushing the doors open.

Everything seemed to have gone chaotic before we even entered. Much stood on a platform created, the 'King' sitting in the seat at the end. The nobles around us muttered and gasped, probably not sure who to believe in that moment. And the guards made an attempt to grab Much, who stood pointing at the 'King'.

"Arrest that Imposter!"

"Get him." The 'King' demanded, gesturing to Much.

The outlaw turned to face a group of well-cloaked people, his eyes wide. "Run." They all ran for the doors, the hoods of their cloaks falling down, which was when I realised it was the rest of their little group - Allan included. However, about a dozen guards ran into the room, aiming their sharp spears towards the group.

"Prim," I jumped as two hands came down on my shoulders. But I sighed in relief once I looked back to see Robin. "You'll leave with Marian, she'll get you out of here with her father."

I shook my head in objection, knowing I had to leave as soon as possible.

"No, I have to go _now. _If I'm seen..." I trailed off and my eyes widened; I might've already been spotted.

"Alright, keep your hood down and head low. Follow me and try not to get caught."

I nodded in understanding and held my hood with my right hand, following him as he took out most of the guards. The outlaws ran up the stairs, heading for the exit, but Robin caught the last one, who just so happened to be Allan.

"Take her, get her out." Robin instructed, gesturing to me.

"Prim? What are you doin' 'ere?!" He exclaimed, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I'd love to explain, I really would, but could you please concentrate on getting me out of here first. Preferably alive?" I pleaded, shaking my head.

"Uh, yeah, course, c'mon." He took my right hand in his left, practically dragging me up the stairs.

"Robin!"

Everyone turned at the sound of the harsh voice - me included. A man wearing black had Much slightly bent over, a dagger firmly pressed to the outlaws' throat. And I didn't need anyone to tell me who he was; _He _was the Sheriff of Nottingham, or Vaisey as I knew him. He'd been to the castle at least twice, and had seen me both times. So I knew now that I had to stay hidden - my life now depended on it.

"Not so fast my friend! Sorry to burst your bubble, Hood. But I'm sure you know how this goes, hands up. You spoilt my game Hood, tut, tut."

"John! Catch!"

I stepped back as Robin threw a long rope towards the larger man, though it was caught by Allan. And I found myself pulled to the side, just as a hand reached out to grab me. A harsh tug and sharp pain around my neck caused my to wince, but I ignored it as Little-John managed to cover the guards, him and Allan tying the rope around the two.

A loud whizzing sound filled the air as Robin shot an arrow. And it seemed to disappear for a few seconds, before landing in it's intended target; Vaisey's shoe. I rubbed at the sore part of the back of my neck, watching as Little-John and Will pushed the guards off the balcony, somehow resulting in Vaisey hanging upside down by the rope attached to the arrow in his shoe. This gave Much enough of a chance to run towards us, looking rather cheerful as he did.

"Everybody still if you please! I think we can safely say, an audience with the King has been suspended!" Robin shouted as Vaisey wriggled in mid-air.

The outlaws laughed at his situation while I smiled and rolled my eyes, waiting patiently for them to finish. They seemed to enjoy this so much, causing the Sheriff pain or humiliation. And while I wasn't exactly part of their group, I could somehow understand why they did what they did, and why they enjoyed it so much. And I knew now why Allan loved this job so much - it was pretty amusing to see the Sheriff this way.

"C'mon lads, let's go home."

I sighed in relief from my spot against the wall. All I wanted now was to get back to the cottage, because as much as it surprised me, I found myself missing the peace and quiet back there. I'd never be able to do what these outlaws do, it didn't seem to be the easiest job, yet they did it anyway.

"Let's go Prim." Allan said, nodding towards the door. I smiled and nodded, following them out of the castle.

~...~...~...~...~...~

A few mornings after the event, I found nothing had changed. Matilda seemed disappointed with the revelation that the King wasn't the real King, but thankfully she didn't question me on how I knew that morning, she just shook it off and carried on. Rosa didn't say anything either, though she seemed pretty content with sleeping and resisting the urge to scarf down some uncooked meat - a new pregnancy craving. I hadn't seen the outlaws since they'd brought me back to the cottage, safe and unharmed. But the looks on their faces as they took me back let me know that they knew, they knew that I'd known before any of them that the King wasn't the real King, yet none of them questioned me about it. They just said their goodbye's and disappeared into the forest, and I hadn't seen them since. Though I had a small feeling they were lying low for now, settling down somewhere else.

So, I'd have to wait a little longer for Father to come home. But I was fine with it, I was pretty content with life in the cottage.

I strolled out into the small field surrounding the house, running my fingers through the long grass. It now reached my shins, but I found I liked it, in some strange way. But what caught my attention was the arrow protruding from the tree near the bank. Usually there would be a small piece of bread, but not this time. And it was rare for an arrow to be here, without me being there first, as usually the arrows were aimed pretty close to me, so this was a little worrying. And I hoped to god it was Allan. One of the main reasons being that I missed the pest... well, our conversations anyway.

As I stood in front of the arrow, my left hand placed against the tree, while my right firmly gripped the longer part of the arrow, two hands covered my eyes. Instinctively I flinched, but once a familiar voice reached my ears, I relaxed, sighing in relief.

"Guess who."

I smiled and bit down on my bottom lip, rolling my eyes behind his hands.

"Oh I don't know, so many men have been by it's hard to tell these days." I teased.

"Well I'd 'ope not, don' need you turnin' into one o' them girls."

"Will you please un-blind me now, Allan?"

Thankfully, he removed his hands, but I had to adjust my eyes to the light.

"There, 'appy now?" He asked in mock-annoyance.

I pulled out the arrow and turned to face him, holding it out. "Very. I assume this is yours."

He shrugged innocently, slowly taking the offered arrow. "You assume right."

"Thought so. What are you doing on this side of the stream? You're always on that side," I gestured to the other side of the stream. "This is my side."

"Yeah, well, that was only at the beginnin', we're mates now ain't we?" He asked, shrugging.

"Mates?" I repeated, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well yeah, I mean at first we weren' quite... friendly towards each other, now we ain't too bad, so I figure I can come over now."

"You make it sound like we're neighbours."

"Well, we kind of are, when yah think about it. Think of the stream as a wall, I live over there, you live over here; Neighbours."

I giggled and rolled my eyes, lightly shaking my head. We'd never been alone and on the same side before, so this was a little different - and making me nervous. Well, I knew I was safe around him, but I was nervous... for some reason. It was new to me, and I wasn't sure if I liked it or not.

"Why haven't I seen you? You haven't been by for a few days now." I sighed, tilting my head slightly.

"Aww Prim," He smirked. "Did you miss me?"

"Yes."

His eyes widened slightly, but he nodded anyway.

"We've been movin' around. Sheriff's not very active these days, probably tryin' to get back some of 'is dignity... well, what he had anyway. But yeah, lookin' for a new camp, Will's got some ideas."

"A break? Sounds good."

"Nah, I don' like quiet, makes me nervous."

"I'm sure, after what I saw a few days ago, I'm not surprised."

He nodded before lightly stroking his chin in thought.

"Speakin' o' which, that message you wanted me to pass on," I sighed and crossed my arms nervously, but let him go on. "D'you wan' me to keep it a secret?"

My eyes widened in disbelief; He wasn't going to ask me about it?. "Uh...yes, that would be good."

"You seem surprised."

"I am, I thought you'd ask me what I meant, or something like that." I shrugged.

"Well, I wan' somethin' in return o' course." He declared, grinning to himself.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion... and slight curiosity. "What?"

He dragged out a long sigh, resting one hand against the tree behind me. I was a little worried, but more intrigued than anything.

"What every guy wants."

"If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, you're not going to get it."

"What? A kiss?"

"Oh... kiss, right." I muttered.

"What d'you think I meant?" He asked, though his small smirk let me know that he knew exactly what I was thinking.

"You know."

Allan shrugged and slowly started to lean in - and I let him. My stomach was turning, something that only happened when I was very scared or very excited. And right now, I wasn't sure which I was feeling. And even though I was tempted to let him, I was tempted to tease him. It was a little cruel I suppose, but I thought of it as getting him back for every time he put a hole in Matilda's pails.

As soon as we were an inch away, I placed my right hand over his mouth, wiggling the index finger of my other hand at him.

"Nice try outlaw."

He groaned, the noise muffled by my hand. I smiled and removed my hand, feeling slightly smug as he sighed in frustration and threw his head back.

"Oh c'mon."

"Nope, if I kiss you someday, it will be under different circumstances."

"Fine, I gotta go anyway, gangs probably lookin' for me." He shrugged, leaning back.

"Yes, you should go. You probably have some other innocent girls to charm." I teased, leaning back against the tree.

"Nah, done them before I came 'ere didn' I?"

"You are such an ass."

"Yeah I know. I'll see you soon though, an' I'll get that kiss Prim." He warned, walking backwards towards the forest.

"I don't doubt it." I told him, tilting my head innocently.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, turning and jogging into the forest. I smiled and chewed my bottom lip, reaching up to feel for my necklace. But as soon as I did, my eyes widened in disbelief and worry; My necklace wasn't there.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hi guys! Me again! So, I know that was a pretty crummy cliffhanger, but I needed to leave you with something. And on another note, please review this chapter for me, it would mean a lot. And thank you so much for the reviews so far. :D


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note:

Hi guys! Me again! Just wanted to say thank you for the reviews, and hopefully you'll keep them coming. Also, since the current chapter will be set during season 2, it's a few months after the last chapter. And things will definitely get a bit more dramatic for Prim. There will also be quite a few Allan/Prim scenes in the rest of the chappies. Just to give you guys a heads up. :)

But anyway, hope you enjoy it and Review, Favourite, or Follow if you can, it would mean a lot.

* * *

~ Matilda's Cottage ~  
~ A Few Month's Later ~

"Prim, it hurts!"

"I know, I've known for hours now."

"Then do something."

"I can't!"

Rosa didn't have long now, she should have the baby out of her in a few weeks - and no one was more relieved than me. Because while I loved the girl like a sister, she would not stop complaining. Now, I'd never had the misfortune of getting pregnant, so now that I'd seen what it did to girls, I was even less enthusiastic about it all. Her stomach had grown rather large, so walking was a little tough for her, and her feet constantly ached whenever she did. Not to mention the fact that her baby seemed to be turning in her stomach, causing her aching pains nearly every day. And to make matters worse, Matilda had put me in charge of taking care of her. So I'd been at home, all day, taking care of a pregnant eighteen year old. Some days were good, most days were bad - like today for instance. The baby must've been turning again, because she'd been whining nearly all day, and I had no idea how to stop it. And unfortunately, Matilda wasn't around, she was out fetching the meat and whatnot. So, I just had to endure Rosa's whines until she returned.

"Prim, it really hurts."

I sighed and filled the bowl with cold water, grabbing the rag and dumping it in before heading into Rosa's room. When she was in pain, she tended to burn up, so I'd been instructed to keep her temperature normal - but it wasn't easy. Well, lowering the temperature was, listening to Rosa go on and on wasn't. Although I had to remind myself that this wasn't _all _her fault, although on another hand it was. _She'd _done her part to create this baby, and Matilda even had a few remedies to prevent pregnancy. But Rosa had to try and be independent, or she just didn't want to tell her mother what she was up to with that boy of hers. But either way, here she was, aching with a large stomach. It was her own fault really.

"I know it hurts, but what can I do?" I sighed, sitting on the chair that I'd placed beside her bed, lowering the bowl onto the nightstand.

"Can't you do it for me?" She whined, rubbing her cloth-covered stomach.

"Nope," I smiled, wringing out the rag. "Not possible I'm afraid."

Rosa groaned loudly and closed her eyes, letting her head fall back against the pillow as she began muttering.

"I'm going to kill him, he'll never touch me again."

"You say that now," I said, dabbing her forehead with the wet rag. "But when he gets back, you'll be so happy to see him you'll forget about all the pain this baby is putting you through. Just please be a little more careful next time, because there is no way I'm doing this again."

"Oh believe me, I'll never get myself into this situation again." She reassured, re-opening her eyes and looking down at her large stomach. "Do you think it's a boy? Mum does."

I smiled and shrugged, dropping the rag back into the bowl.

"I'm not sure, maybe. But a little part of me thinks it'll be a girl."

"Really? I hope it is, I always wanted a girl." She said, a little calmer now that our conversation was distracting her from the pain.

"Well, I wouldn't wish for a girl. Because that means one day you'll be where your mother is now, looking after your whining pregnant daughter." I told her, chuckling as she lightly hit my arm.

"I don't whine! Besides, boy or girl, I'll love it either way."

I nodded and crossed my legs on the chair, watching as she now stared lovingly at her stomach, like she couldn't wait to meet the little thing. Though to be fair, none of us could wait for it. One of the main reasons being that when the baby arrived, Rosa would no longer be her whiny self. But then reality kicked in and now we realised that when the baby did arrive, it would be taking over it's mothers job of waking us up in the middle of the night. Only it would be screaming and crying - I wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

"D'you want kids?"

My eyes widened slightly at the question. Did I want children? Not really. Sure there had been a time in my life where the thought of having a baby made me excited, but not anymore, not now that I knew what kind of World I lived in. And if what many, many people had told was true, I wouldn't even have a child with a nice man. I'd marry someone I didn't know, probably, and then eventually fall pregnant. Then I'd be home alone to take care of the child, while he did whatever it was that men did. And if _I _married, then chances are I'd never even see the man, let alone the child I'd be forced with.

"No." I truthfully answered, feeling a little embarrassed and guilty as her eyes widened in disbelief.

"What? Why?"

"Because where I'm from, people don't have children with people they love. And I'm on the run Rosa, there is no way I'd be able to raise a child with things the way they are. The King in the Holy Land, Prince John trying to take over England, evil Sheriff's hanging people for no reason - I wouldn't do that to my child. Besides, who would I have a child with anyway?"

"I dunno, there _are _a lot of good-looking guys around 'ere though. An' I've seen the way village boys look at you, any one of 'em would jump at the chance to bed you." She shrugged.

"Rosa!" I exclaimed.

"What?! You know it's true." I glanced down sheepishly, shaking my head. "Oh lord, you haven't noticed it, have you?"

"I'm not very observant."

"You don't have to be observant to notice men looking at you, Prim. You've been here what, a few months now? You should've noticed by now."

"_Anyway,_" I groaned, intent on moving the conversation away from myself and lack-of observation. "No babies for me. I'm only seventeen, and I have no time for babies."

She nodded and I heard a faint knocking sound from the other room, most-likely the door. Though I was a little worried, no one ever knocked here. At least, no one had in a while. After a second of hesitation, I looked back at Rosa.

"You going to be okay in here?"

"Probably not, but go on an' answer the door, god-knows they won't go if you don't" She groaned, shuffling down to lie on her back.

I smiled slightly and headed for the door. But instead of opening it straight away, I slid the eye latch across, intent on finding out who it was before I let them in. And I had to be honest, I was a little surprised with the revelation. None of the outlaws had been by in a long time - Allan included. And I just assumed they'd been moving around, looking for a new hiding spot like he'd told me they were. Still, calling this late was a little concerning, no matter who it was.

"What are you doing here?"

"What? Yah not 'appy to see me?" He grinned, wincing as he moved to the side.

I narrowed my eyes in concern and reluctantly opened the door, moving back and allowing him to come through. And as he did, he winced a bit, one hand against his stomach. I closed the door behind him, turning to lean against it as I turned around. He looked more than rough, that was a fact. He was sweating, and while his cloak was securely tied, his shirt was undone. And the dark bruise surrounding his eye and stretching towards his temple was enough to make me at least a little worried, and very curious as to why he was here.

"What happened to you?" I questioned, sitting opposite him.

"Got a little roughed up in the tavern is all, no worries." He reassured, though the bruise told me otherwise.

"If you didn't want me to worry then you shouldn't have come here. Which raises another question, why are you here?"

Allan sighed and shrugged, untying the cloak and letting it fall down onto the back of the chair.

"Honestly?"

"No, lie to me." He rolled his eyes at my mockingly-serious reply and I sighed. "Just tell me, Allan."

"I had to get myself cleaned up didn' I? This was the first place I thought of."

I nodded in understanding, deciding not to press the matter further. Allan had been nice enough to not ask me what I'd been up to, or anything about the message I'd given him, so if he didn't want to tell me what happened, I wouldn't push. The man was a good liar, but no one looked this bad after some rough-housing in the tavern. If I didn't know better, I'd say he'd been beaten half-way to death by a group of men.

"Take off your shirt." I instructed, filling another bowl with some water from a nearby pail.

"If you wanted to get me naked Prim you only 'ad to ask."

I didn't need to be facing Allan to know that smirk was back in place, if anything I should've seen that coming. It'd been a while since we'd seen each other, so lord knows he'd jump at the chance to tease me again.

"Allan, I _will_ throw you out of this house." I threatened, turning to place the bowl down on the table between us.

He nodded and rolled his eyes as he undid the rest of the buttons on his shirt, throwing it down onto the seat next him once it was off. Apparently being an outlaw was very good on him, but I had to get that out of my mind. He had a gash on the left side of his chest, while multiple bruises covered the rest of his torso. I sighed to myself and took a spare rag from the counter, dipping it into the bowl as I stood in front of him.

"So, how's things?" He asked, flinching as I attempted to clean away the dried blood on his chest.

"You haven't been by in months, and the first thing you think to say is 'How's-things?"

"Well what else d'you wan' me to say?"

"Oh I don't know," I shrugged, inspecting the wound further. It didn't seem that deep, just enough to draw blood, and luckily it didn't seem to be infected. "Something along the lines of 'Hello' or 'Sorry I haven't been by in a while'."

"Alright then." He said. "Sorry I haven't been by in a while. That good enough?"

I smiled and shook my head in disbelief, wetting the rag again. The man was such an ass sometimes.

"Guess it is. Still, where have you been?"

"Around. Will built us a new hide-out, it's pretty amazin'. An' the Sheriff's up to somethin'." He replied, watching my hands.

"And you outlaws are investigating it I assume?"

"O' course!"

I rolled my eyes at his reply, though I knew if the Sheriff was up to something, Robin and the outlaw gang would be the first to investigate it. And I was very surprised none of them had died yet, or worse.

"Just be careful, okay? Don't need you lot dying now, you're all this country has." I muttered, keeping my eyes on the bruises.

"Don' yah mean Robin?" He asked, sounding a little annoyed.

"What?"

"Robin's all this country 'as. That's 'ow it seems anyway, we do all the work an' 'e gets the credit."

Now, I'd actually expected this from Allan, because out of all the outlaws, he'd be the one to get jealous about not getting any credit. And he was sort of right, in some way. Robin was the name travelling around villages, it was Robin that people looked to, the one who people thanked. I'd never even heard the names of the others, the only thing I knew them as from other people were 'Robin's-men'.

"Allan," I sighed, dropping the rag and looking down at him. "It's not all Robin, trust me on that. He wouldn't be alive now if it wasn't for the rest of you, and don't let anyone tell you differently."

Allan said nothing, though his eyebrows raised, either in disbelief or shock, I wasn't completely sure. But I turned and took hold of the bowl, taking the rag and dropping it onto the counter before pulling the window open and throwing out the slightly-bloody and dirty water. I'd practically washed the man down, but he needed it after what he looked like he'd been through. I was tempted to let him stay here for the night, but he had to get back to the gang, they'd most likely be looking for him by now, with it being close to dark and everything.

"So, you should probably get back..." I paused and jumped as I turned, finding that he'd somehow sneakily managed to get close behind me. Then again, he was an outlaw, sneaky was probably in the job description.

"They'll be waiting for you, probably." I finished, now being the one to look up at him.

"I doubt it, they probably ain't even noticed I'm gone. Or they ain't worried." He shrugged, taking the bowl from my hands and letting it clatter on a random counter. I was a little worried that maybe it had cracked, but I had other things in mind right now.

"Um...you sure?"

Our eyes remained locked as he leaned down, thankfully stopping once his forehead touched mine. His hands took place on my waist, while mine rested on his shoulders. Allan didn't seem to be going in for anything else yet, but that didn't mean he wouldn't eventually. And while I wanted it more than anything, I was a little nervous. My stomach wouldn't stop turning and I felt a little giddy, meanwhile I could feel a small tingling sensation in my hands. The only time I ever seemed to get this feeling was when I was around him, and I sort of hated him for it.

"Allan," I warned, once he was close enough.

"Hmm?" He asked, eyes half-closed.

"Not yet."

He groaned but nodded, slowly and hesitatingly moving back from me. And I found that as soon as he did, I wanted him back again. But I wouldn't tell him that, he probably knew it anyway. And while I slowly regained my senses, he pulled on his shirt, doing up the buttons before tying his cloak again. Did I regret pushing him away? Yes. Did I want to kiss him? More than anything. But I couldn't, not now, not while things were still complicated. _When _he found out who I really was, and if he decided he still wanted it, then I would give it to him. But until then I'd have to control myself, and I knew it'd be more difficult for me than it would him. Who knew I'd eventually become attracted the man who'd hated me at first? I didn't.

"You're right, I should go." Allan said, heading for the door.

"Allan," I called, leaning against the open door while he stood outside, arms crossed as he waited patiently for me to speak. "I want to, just not yet."

"I ain't rushin' yah Prim, but I won't make it easy."

"I know," I said, smiling slightly at the playful tone. "Just wait, please?"

"Fine." He sighed after a moment of hesitation. "I guess I can wait a bit."

"Good, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't come around more often. I do like seeing you, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But don' worry Prim, I'll come see more often." He grinned, winking as he walked back towards the forest.

I smiled and rolled my eyes, waving slightly before closing the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note:

Hey guys! Just me...again. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that the dramatic stuff starts now. Well, now-ish. And the first part of this chapter won't be in anyone's POV, only thing is I've never written stories that weren't in the OC's POV before, so please don't blame me if it's not as good. It also takes a break from the series episodes, so this chapter and maybe the next will be based between the episodes. This chapter will be rather long because the group will be learning all about Prim's past, and why she was running. So I expect good reviews for this one. ;)

Anyway, thank you guys so much for all the Reviews, Favourites, and Follows. And if you can, keep them coming for me please. Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of the story. :)

* * *

~ Nottingham Castle ~

"People of Nottingham!" Sheriff Vaisey exclaimed, stretching out his arms in an over exaggerated manner. "It brings me great sadness to inform you that our Princess, the King's daughter, has been reported missing."

Mutters, exclamations, and gasps were heard from the crowd watching the man intently. All had heard of the young girl, but none had seen her - much like the King himself. But while she'd never been seen, many had heard of her. They knew that she was his only daughter, that she was kind and considerate, and only young. And though she didn't hold much power over the kingdom, she was just as loved as her father - Richard the Lionheart. Rumour had it that the girl refused to marry, causing many of the villagers to immediately guess that it was the reason she was missing.

"I know, I know." Vaisey called, causing the noise from the crowd to halt. "It is a great tragedy for us all. Her dear uncle, Prince John, wishes to find her and bring her home... safely. Briallen has been missing for months now, and we have reason to believe that she is hiding here, somewhere in England. But we are in quite the predicament, as her only means of identification, is this." The Sheriff raised his right hand in the air, the golden rose necklace clutched firmly in his hand. "But don't fret. If you know of any new women in the village, please don't hesitate to let us know. And just to be sure, the one to find the princess will be rewarded; Three chests of gold coins from Prince John himself."

Robin stood at the back of the crowd, hood secured so that it fell over his head an inch. The rest of the outlaws surrounded him, the hoods of their cloaks in a similar manner. Though none could quite believe what the Sheriff was saying; The princess was missing. Robin couldn't think of a time where he'd actually met the Princess, but he remembered many conversations with the king involving the teenage girl. One conversation in particular...;

_'I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her, her or her mother.' _Richard had told him, smiling in thought. _'Whenever I would leave, she would tell me to return as fast as I could. She is my courage, I fight to return to her, she is my lionheart.'_

"So, remember, any woman that's been through over the passed few months, report it to me. We hope you'll all find her, so that we can return her home safely, to her very worried Uncle and mother. Thank you."

And with that, Vaisey returned into the castle, two guards trailing behind. With the announcement over, the villagers exited the castle, all chatting excitedly about the reward money, then sounding disappointed and worried that their dear Princess was missing. Although to their misfortune, none could quite recollect seeing a new face in the village. Well, none except one, one that remembered seeing that necklace around the neck of a certain runaway.

"The King 'as a daughter? Am I the only one who didn' know about it?" Allan asked incredulously.

"No," Djaq told him, lightly shaking her head. "I did not know either."

"I did." Much declared, smiling proudly. "I remember the King would always talk to master about her, telling us both how much he missed her. It was rather upsetting really, how unhappy he seemed when he told us about his family in Wales..."

"Robin, do you know something?" Little-John asked, blurring out Much's slight rant.

"I think so." Robin replied, rubbing at his chin in deep thought.

"I mean, to miss someone _that _much, it's quite good as well though I suppose," Much carried on, shrugging his shoulders.

All outlaws concentrated on their leader...well, all except Much. The former-servant continued to mutter and chat aimlessly, while the rest attempted to block him out, instead worrying about the look of concentration on Robin's face. All could tell that he knew something, but none knew what. Not even Djaq, who was sure that she had the best memory in their group, could remember a new face in the village. But Robin could, and as soon as he saw the necklace, it hit him. Only one woman was new to their country, and he knew exactly where she was.

"I've seen that necklace before." He informed the group, turning to head towards the exit.

"What? Where?" Will asked, eyes narrowed in curiosity and confusion.

"I'll tell you when we get there, mount up lads, we're heading to Matilda's cottage."

~...~...Prim's POV...~...~

As I sat in the kitchen of Matilda's small cottage, I folded my hands on the table in front of me, sighing in thought. It had been a few days since Allan had come by, and I hated to admit that I was a little worried. That beating wasn't from a tavern fight, even I knew that, and no one could get a gash that nasty looking from a small fight over a drink or something. Still, I had more important things to worry about - like my fathers return. I'd promised to be patient, promised him that I'd make sure my mother wouldn't worry, but I couldn't keep it. I'd ran, only after she told me to of course but I'd still run away. Maybe I could've stayed home, figured out another way to keep the will safe and away from my uncle, but I knew in some way it wouldn't have been enough. Because if he couldn't destroy the will, he'd certainly have destroyed me. After all, I was one of the many things standing in the way of him becoming King. And with my father away, it wasn't the best situation to be in.

A loud knock at the door broke me out of my thoughts. Matilda rushed towards the door, pulling it open to reveal Robin. I was certain both of us were surprised with the outlaws visit, since he didn't have much of a reason to anymore. But with him looking as concerned as he did, I wasn't about to question it. And since she merely stood back to allow him in, I had a feeling Matilda wasn't either.

"Robin, what brings yah here lad?" She asked, rubbing some dirt off on her apron.

"My men and I need a word with Primrose." Robin told her, looking straight at me.

Matilda looked at me, then Robin, then back at me. I gulped nervously, wringing my hands as a tingling feeling erupted in my palms. What could he possibly need to talk to me about? Unless they knew about me, all of them. But I hoped they didn't, because if they did, then that meant someone else did too, and that meant I had to start running again. Just when I'd gotten comfortable too.

"What? Why?" Matilda asked, eyes narrowed sceptically.

"Just a word at our camp, it's important but I don't think she'd like anyone else to know. C'mon Prim," He sighed, nodding towards the door.

I reluctantly rose from my chair, moving towards the door. But a worried looking Matilda put a gently hand to my shoulder, making me pause.

"Now 'ang on a minute lad, I've known yah since yah were a babe, but I can' let yah jus' take 'er! She's come to be like my daughter an' I won' let 'er go unless I know she's safe."

"She will be safe." He said. "I give you my word."

Matilda nodded after a second of hesitation, moving back so that I could move passed. I followed Robin out of the cottage, sighing quietly as I realised the rest of the outlaws were also outside. Each man...and woman, sat straight on their horses. But when they looked back and saw me, most fidgeted uncomfortably, only succeeding in making me even more worried. And so, I paused for a moment, almost hearing me heartbeat pick up it's pace. If I had to run, I would.

"Prim, we're not going to hurt you." Robin reassured me. I remained sceptical.

"Why do we have to go to your camp? If I'm safe with you, then why can't I stay here?" I questioned, crossing my arms.

"Cause it's important, Prim." Allan said from the spot on his horse.

I wanted to trust them, I really did, and I had to keep reminding myself that they'd saved me at the beginning. They'd brought me to Matilda, given me a normal life. But people could easily change, if given the right motivation, and maybe someone had given it to them. Maybe they were being paid to track me down, maybe it was my Uncle. And as the questions flowed through my head, I failed to realise Allan had moved until he was in front of me, unwinding the scarf from his neck.

"What are you doing?" I asked, glancing between him and the pale-green scarf in his left hand.

"Don' worry luv, I won' hurt yah, you know I won'." He replied, holding out his right hand.

At first I did hesitate, I had good reason to. They were taking me from my safety box, asking me to go with them when I had no idea of their intentions. Why on earth did they want to speak with me? Why couldn't they just do it here?. However for once, I attempted to ignore those small voices in my head. I shakily placed my left hand in his right, letting him lead me towards the horse. I pulled myself up with the added help of Allan, and he soon climbed up behind me. But I flinched in both nervousness and surprise as green clouded my vision, while the soft material of the scarf lightly rubbed against my face.

"Allan," I muttered, blinking a few times as he tied the scarf behind my head.

"Sorry Prim, we gotta be careful now, can't 'ave anyone seein' where the camp is. Not even you." He explained, shuffling up against my back and taking the reigns with both hands.

"You swear you won't hurt me?" I timidly asked, tensing up against him.

"I swear, now 'old on luv."

I nodded and leaned back against him, grasping the front of the saddle as his horse began moving.

~...~...~...~...~...~

I wasn't completely sure how long I'd been up on that horse, but it felt like a while. Then again, everything seems longer when you're temporarily blinded. All I knew was that we were in the forest, that much I was certain of. I could hear the birds chirping, the wind occasionally blowing through the leaves, not being able to see made everything else a little better. It was as though without being able to see, I could now concentrate more on the things around me. It was a little strange I'll admit, but somewhat soothing. I was even sure that for a moment or two, I'd fallen asleep against Allan, but that only made me worried. If I was relaxed enough to fall asleep around the outlaw, then I was getting too close, things were beginning to get complicated.

The horses were brought to a halt and Allan released the reigns, moving his arms from around me, though not without lightly grazing my own arms as he did. And when he jumped down I carefully removed my left foot from the stirrup, bringing my right leg over so that I was now sad side-saddle on the large horse. Thankfully a second later two hands took hold of my waist, and I slid down the side of the horse, sighing in relief as I was caught underneath my bum, then slid down a hard body until my feet hit the ground. I knew instantly who it was that had caught me, not that I was complaining of course.

"Time to see again Prim." Allan declared, untying the knot in his scarf.

I winced as the light poured through, clenching my eyes shut at the sudden harshness. But when my sight did fully return, I was able to recognize where I was. Obviously I wouldn't be able to find my way back without their help, but I knew it couldn't have been far, I had a feeling we weren't that far from Matilda's cottage. But I was still worried, about why they wanted to see me.

"Do you know where you are?" Robin asked me, while Will ran down one of the hills.

"No." I sighed, crossing my arms again.

"Good."

"Robin! It's open!" Will called.

The outlaws descended down the hill and I followed, my eyes widening slightly at the scene. Allan wasn't lying when he said they were working on a new camp, this one was brilliant to say the least. The roof over their small hide-out had been covered with leaves, so if anyone did come by, no one would see it unless the roof was up.

"Wow," I muttered, looking around the outlaws' camp. "This is...amazing."

"Thank you, milady." Will said, nodding.

"Milady?" I glanced at each outlaw in confusion, though I knew exactly what they meant.

"You don't have to hide, Prim. We know who you are." Robin said, leaning against the make-shift wall.

I nodded and sat down on what looked like a bed of some sort, resting my hands in my lap.

"I see. H...how did you find out, exactly?"

"The Sheriff," Djaq answered. "All he knows is that the King's daughter is here, he does not know where. But he will soon, he's offered the villagers three gold coined chests in exchange for your whereabouts. They want to return you to your Uncle."

"No," I begged, shaking my head frantically. "No, you cannot make me go back, I'll only run again. Please don't make me go back home." I moved to my feet, ready to run if necessary. But Robin stood in front of me, lightly resting his hands on my shoulders.

"We will not send you back to Prince John, but we need to know some things if we are to help you. Can you do that?" He asked. I nodded and he gently pushed on my shoulders, causing me to sit back down. Meanwhile the rest spread out, each outlaw sat down in a different spot, though Robin remained stood. "Alright, well, why don't we start with your real name."

"My name _is _Primrose, it is just the English translation. My well-known name however is Briallen." I shrugged, smiling slightly to myself.

"I'm not bein' funny but you gotta admit that is clever." Allan chuckled, glancing at the others, who somewhat nodded in approval.

"Alright," Much started. "Who are you running from, and why?"

"I'm running from Prince John, my Uncle. When I turned seventeen my father made a will, he knew if he did not return from battle then someone would be next in line for the throne. Originally it was supposed to be my Uncle John, but father changed it." I said, though I sighed afterwards and shook my head, wishing he'd not done what he had.

"It's okay Prim, take as much time as you need." Robin reassured.

"I know, you have to understand the only person that knows about this is me, my mother, my father, and many of his family back home. My uncle wasn't really after me, he was after the will..."

"What's that?" Much asked curiously, cutting me off.

"Much!" Many of the outlaws exclaimed in irritation, though it only caused me to giggle in amusement.

"It's fine." I insisted, before letting my smile fade as I returned to my story. "My father wrote out a will that should he die, I would take his place on the throne, not my Uncle. So when he left for the Holy Land, John saw his opportunity. He tried to locate the will, tried to destroy it and create another, one that would put him next in line, but he could not find it. So he tried the alternative guarantee," I paused and took a deep breath, looking down at my shaky hands.

"He tried to kill you?" Allan questioned, though it was leaning more towards a statement.

"Yes. The only way for me to claim that throne is when I turn eighteen, or if I marry, once father is dead of course. So when John failed to locate the will he came for me...well, he hired a few men to ambush my carriage. They did but my mother was with me, along with our main guard - Bedwyn. My mother told me to run, run as far away as I could and keep the will safe. So I did, I paid a servant to swap clothes and I used the rest of the money to get here." I finished, looking up at the others.

"So if Richard dies, the only thing standing between John and the throne is you?" Will asked, being the first to speak.

"Exactly." I confirmed, nodding.

"And this will, where is it?" Robin asked.

"I...I don't know if..."

"You don' know if you can trust us." Allan finished.

"Yes, unfortunately. How did the Sheriff find out about me anyway? How did he know I was here?"

"Your necklace, he has it with him. It was the only reason I knew who you were." Robin replied.

I sighed in realisation, now knowing what the stinging sensation had been back at the castle. One of the guards must've tugged it from my neck.

"So, that's where it is. Look, the sheriff knows exactly what I look like, he's been by the castle many times. If he sees me, he'll send me back to John, and he'll hang me."

"Well, we _have _to keep you safe!" Much exclaimed, shaking his head. "I mean, you're the Princess!"

"He's right, if she is the only thing keeping John away from that throne then we must protect her with our lives." Little-John added.

"No," I objected, earning disbelieving looks from the outlaws. "No one will die for me, many have died for my father and I will not let anyone die for me. If something happens to me then someone will let the King know what happened and why it happened, but no one will die for me, I won't let you."

"I'm not bein' funny but it's our lives, we'll decide if we wanna die for you or not." Allan shrugged.

"Well here is my deal," I said, narrowing my eyes at the blue-eyed outlaw. "If any of _you _die, I'll rip up the will myself and turn myself in to Prince John." They all stood, about to object but I carried on. "I won't let you die for me, or England. Just keep doing what you do and I'll be fine."

"You drive a hard bargain, Princess." Robin chuckled, shaking his head. I shrugged in response, lightly smirking to myself.

"I learnt from the best, now do we have a deal? You lot stay alive, and I'll keep the will safe and sound, along with myself."

"Actually that's gonna be a bit difficult."

"Why?" I asked, my eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Because now that the Sheriff knows you're here, he has all the villages out looking for you. And I don't doubt that he's sending Gisborne out to every home in England to find you. If you go home, well, you'll only be risking the lives of Rosa and Matilda."

"So, what do I do?" I asked, chewing my bottom lip nervously.

"Well," Allan sighed, standing up again. "There's only one thing yah can do really." The others stared at him in confusion, so he clarified it a little. "She'll 'ave to live 'ere!"

"It might be best." Djaq shrugged, nodding in agreement.

Live with outlaws? This could not go well. "No," I declared. "I mean, I know nothing of being an outlaw? How would I survive?"

"You don't have to do anything, Primrose. Just stay safe and we'll keep you protected from Prince John, you can trust us." Robin assured me. I was still a little hesitant.

"I can't tell you where the will is, I'm sorry but I can't."

"You don't have to, just stay here with us, maybe help Much cook or something and we'll keep you safe in return. You won't risk Matilda or Rosa either, as long as you remain hidden."

"You mean stay in the forest?" I corrected, earning a sheepish shrug in return. "What will I do to pass the time?"

"I'm sure we can think of somethin'." Allan shrugged, looking a little too pleased with the arrangement.

"If I say yes, will the Sheriff eventually stop looking for me? Will Matilda and Rosa be safe? I have to know that no one will be hurt because of me, I need you to promise me that."

"I promise." Robin told me.

I sighed and nodded, crossing my arms again.

"Then I guess I'm staying here."

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey guys! So, this was an extra long chappy so I expect good reviews from you people. ;) But I really do hope you enjoyed it, and there is still more to come, along with a lot of Allan/Prim scenes.


	9. Chapter 9

~ Sherwood Forest ~  
~ The Outlaws' Camp ~

Days seemed like weeks when living in the forest, on what I classed as 'house-arrest'. The Sheriff needed to know that I was no longer here, maybe then he'd stop the searches, but until then I was forced to stay back at the camp, unable to go anywhere for risk of exposure. And though the outlaws were great company, I could not be more bored. Because at least while I was living with Matilda there was something for me to do each day, here there was nothing. Well, except for helping Much with the food of course. All I seemed to do was eat, talk, and sleep, then repeat it the next day. It was so infuriating, but I didn't tell the others, they were trying to help and I was very grateful for that, but I really needed something to do. I'd even gone as far as to try and clean up, but it seemed Much had already gone and done it, the man really was like another female in the group. Still, there wasn't much to do, and it was becoming more and more harder to take.

It was the morning after the groups' attempt on the Sheriff's strong-room when I said anything at all. They'd all gotten some good sleep though, they deserved it after their night spent snooping the castle for the room. And now that they were wide awake and chatting, I knew I had to say something. Because it would be better to take a risk and ask than to stay silent and seem fine with it all, when really all I wanted to do was take off running. Not away of course, just into the forest, to climb or do _something _to pass the time, because it only seemed to be making me very cranky, and I didn't want to risk snapping at the outlaws, I'd never forgive myself if I did.

"So, what's the plan today? Rest?" Much hopefully questioned, chewing on some bacon.

"No, _we _need to figure out a way to break into that strong-room. Marian told me that the Sheriff has a small gambling party planned, all that money will go straight into the strong-room. We just have to find a way to get in without being hurt." Robin told him, leaning against the make-shift wall, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Actually I've been thinkin' about that one." Will piped up, earning everyone's attention.

"You have some ideas?" Robin asked.

"No, but I know a man who might. And I know where he lives, it's worth a shot, right?"

Robin nodded, shrugging his shoulders. "I suppose it is. Well, hurry an' eat up lads."

The others seemed to speed up their eating, practically shoving the food down their throats, and I knew it was time to ask. Even if it wasn't that far, anything was better than staying in the camp - again. I don't think I could take another day of nothing, of staying in one place, if it didn't drive me mad now it definitely would tomorrow.

"Robin?" I asked, earning a nod from the now-listening outlaw. "Can I come?"

"You sure you wanna do that Prim?" Allan asked, the others having heard my question as well. "I mean, you could get caught."

"Either I come, or one of you stay behind. Look, I'm grateful that you're helping me, I am. But it's been days now, I haven't been outside of the camp except to do... certain business. It's driving me mad, _please _let me come with you. Only to meet this man and that's the last thing I'll ask, just let me get out of this camp." I begged, tilting my head.

It seemed as though they were all considering it, having a small debate on whether or not to bring me. So, I decided to do anything possible to get out, even though I knew I'd regret it later.

"If you let me go, I'll tell you where I've hidden the will." That caused a few raised eyebrows.

"Prim, we're not saying 'no' to you. You don't have to tell us where the will is, we'll let you come, I think you've been here long enough anyway." Robin replied, shrugging his shoulders.

I sighed in relief. Thank god.

"But you have to stay close, we can't risk losing you." He added.

"Robin, I'm a Princess, not a five year old, I think I can follow you through the forest without any problems. And if it means that much to you I'll walk in the middle, some of you behind me while some stay in front."

"Can I go at the back?" Allan asked, smirking to himself as he raised a hand.

"Allan!" Much exclaimed, horrified while I was amused. "She is the Princess."

"So? Don't mean I need to stop flirtin' now does it?"

"It's fine Much," I reassured. "I'm used to his advances, he's been going at it for weeks, so why should he stop now."

"_Anyway," _Robin said, attempting to change the subject, though he seemed a little amused with the conversation. "Yes Prim, you may come."

I smiled and nodded, sighing in relief as I leaned back against the beam.

~...~...~...~...~...~

"Will," The blind man said, gently touching the outlaws face. "Still passionate, but angry."

"Lots to be angry about." Was Will's reply.

"True, and your skills, you're using them, not wasting them?"

"I'm with Robin Hood."

"Good," The man - Steven, nodded in approval. "That is a relief."

I watched the scene from my spot near the back wall, to Allan's right and John's left. Not that I'd ever say it, but I had my doubts about this. Will had told us how this man was one of the best, that he'd taught his father, and had even been the teacher of the makers of the strong-room, who had been killed a few hours before we'd come here apparently. But he was blind, and I had nothing against him because of it, but how was he to help them?. They planned to break into the room, dodge every dangerous obstacle in there, so how was a blind man supposed to teach them how?. But like I said, I wouldn't ever speak up, voice my thoughts, I'd sound a little shallow if I did.

Djaq slowly raised a small box on the table when the man's staff appeared in front of her face.

"Do not touch that, please."

"I have seen this type of work before, it is Persian, no?" The Saracen curiously questioned.

"It was my wife's." Steven replied, causing Djaq to immediately put the box back. "The men who died had family's, wives and children, I want them to be taken care of."

"They will be, you have my word." Robin swore. "But if there's anything you can tell us, anything that they told you."

"Look," Allan said, moving away from the wall and approaching the man. "I'm not bein' funny, we've seen this death-trap in action right? An' now we're gonna take advice from a blind-man?"

In a split-second, said blind-man managed to knock Allan down onto his back, using only his staff - I hadn't even seen him move.

"When a man loses his sight, he finds compensation in all the senses that remain." Steven told him, holding out a hand to help an annoyed-looking Allan to his feet.

Once up the outlaw left, leaving the others very amused and me a little curious. But I shook it off, he'd just been knocked down by a man without sight, it was a little embarrassing to be fair. Though I had to admit, he'd been a little off for a while now, since the day he'd been beaten to be more specific. But for now I ignored it, there was more pressing matters at hand.

"I do not intend on joining your mission, but I might be of assistance in planning it." Steven told Robin.

"Yea, but what can you possibly know about the Sheriff's strong-room?" Much asked, sounding a little stressed out.

"A great deal." Steven insisted, before clarifying for us. "I designed it."

~...~...~...~...~...~

Unfortunately, we wound up back at the camp, with Steven of course. Why we hadn't discussed it all back at his small home I wasn't sure, maybe he needed to guarantee no one would overhear or something. So, we all spread out back at the camp, Steven having our complete attention. Although, mine was here and there. I wasn't exactly sure where Allan had disappeared to, he hadn't popped up since leaving the small cottage. Still, I once again laid down on my own make-shift bed, trying to focus on Steven's words only. This was important, so I might as well listen in, maybe it would be helpful.

"This is the door," Will told us, holding a smaller model of the strong-room. "The only exit, no other doors or windows."

"The room itself is twenty feet long by twenty feet wide. Both walls are honeycombed with blowholes, each loaded with arrows primed to strike a specific spot." Steven said.

"You step on the wrong stone and," Will made a small face and we all understood; You step on the wrong stone, you get shot with an arrow. Seemed simple enough.

"Which stones?" Robin asked.

"My great innovation. It changes." Steven revealed, causing Robin to chuckle in slight disbelief.

"That's not possible, is it?"

"A weighted wheel beneath the floor rotates regularly, each turn defines a new route, changing the order of the sprung stones."

"So any stone can trigger a trap at any time?"

"I did not say it would be easy."

"_This, _I do not like." Little-John said, obviously unhappy with the great risk of death. Much and Djaq glanced at each other, both wincing and nodding as they seemed to think the same thing. Not that I blamed them of course, it seemed insane.

"You'll be up against time," Steven carried on as the group approached Will's small model of the strong-room, inspecting it closely. "Opening the door turns an hourglass set beside the base of the plinth. When the sand runs through a final fail-safe is triggered."

"I shouldn't ask, but what exactly?" Much nervously questioned, only speaking what the rest of us were thinking.

"There is a vault behind the back wall, containing a vat of molten led, it is kept at a constant heat by the fires of the kitchen. When the hourglass is empty, the vat is turned, the liquid flows into a series of gutters,"

"The pipes in the walls." Djaq sighed, as though in realisation.

"Burning liquid sprays out, covering the entire room, anyone inside will not stand a chance."

"And yet, the coins remain intact because they are harder than the soft led!"

"Well, all I'm hearing is arrows, led, and certain death." Much sighed, shaking his head. "Encouraging."

"How long before the hourglass runs through?" Robin asked.

"A slow count of eight score and ten." Steven replied.

"In a count of one hundred an' seventy, you've got to get to the money an' get it out?" A familiar voice questioned.

"Nice of you to join us Allan."

"Well, I still think you're mad, but if you want some more help then," He shrugged.

"Oh we are mad! We should stick to robbing merchants in the forest!" Much exclaimed, laughing either in nervousness or disbelief.

"That we are good at." Little-John added, eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Then we will work until we get better at this!" Robin exclaimed, earning an eye-roll from their strongest member of the group. "We'll meet at the abandoned barn near Clun."

"What for?" Much asked.

"To practice, we are going to build this strong-room over there." He declared, earning a few smiles from the group.

"Good." Steven nodded, obviously agreeing with it all. I however, thought a little differently.

"I don't like it." I finally spoke up, earning everyone's attention, even Steven's... I think.

"Prim, we're not breaking into it tonight, we will get some practice first." Robin reassured.

I shook my head and got to my feet, approaching the group and looking down at the strong-room model. It seemed too risky, like there was too much of a risk that they would die. And even though they avoided death nearly every day, it didn't make me feel any better.

"So _you _are going to break into a room, filled with rotating stones that will set off possibly-poisoned arrows, dodge any that shoot out, reach the gold, somehow get it all into a bag, then get back without getting shot again, all in a small amount of time? Let's not forget the currently burning led that will spray out of the walls if you don't do it in the given time." I crossed my arms as I finished, turning to Steven. "Did I miss anything out?"

"No."

"There we are, it's just very risky. And I _know _you're all good at robbing, giving to the poor, but this is higher than you, it's... I can't even explain it."

"And that is why we are practicing first," Robin said, moving up from his crouched position. "Trust us Briallen."

"First of all," I sighed, narrowing my eyes at him. "Using my real name? Not clever. And second of all, I have a right to worry, I'll be the one staying back at the camp during this time, worrying like mad. I do it enough while you're all out robbing nobles, thinking of what could happen if you are caught in that room will probably drive me mad."

Robin chuckled at my stressed out state, seemingly amused. And I was sure I was overreacting, but I couldn't help it, the many traps in that room made me nervous.

"We'll be _fine _Prim, besides, we're not attempting to break in tonight. Or tomorrow, we'll go when we are ready. All that money will still be there when we're done, trust us."

"Believe me, I'm trying." I sighed, shaking my head before heading back towards the bed.


	10. Chapter 10

~ The Outskirt's of Clun ~

"The Hourglass turns now!" Steven exclaimed. "1, 2.."

"Arrow!" Much exclaimed. Robin ducked in time as Much's arm flew out.

"3, 4, 5,"

Little-John turned and slammed the wooden shaft against Robin's stomach, causing the outlaw to groan while Djaq and Much cried out in protest. The training wasn't as easy as it appeared, everything seemed to be going wrong. Someone always turned at the wrong time, or Robin would get himself 'killed'. If this was how they were in practice, I'd hate to see them facing the real thing. Though Allan seemed to gain quite a bit of amusement from it, I'd always hear his laughs when something went wrong, but I couldn't help but smile slightly. It was a little amusing, not that I'd ever tell the rest of them that, they were annoyed enough already.

"Shut up!" Robin shouted, causing the others to halt in their arguments. "Lives depend on this, the wives and family's of the dead, not to mention what will happen if the Sheriff decides to give out that money. If we're going to defeat the strong-room then we have to work as a team, that means discipline."

"What happens if he hands out the money?" I timidly asked, causing everyone to look my way. I'd considered asking them about it before, but I wasn't sure if I should. With the way they talked about it I knew it wasn't anything good. Still, I felt I deserved to know.

Each outlaw glanced at each other nervously, or a little guilty. The looks they shared only succeeded in making me even more nervous, which wasn't good. When too nervous, I had a tendency to puke - for hours. It took quite a lot to calm me down, only my mother and father had ever eased me nerves. But they weren't here, so I wasn't too eager to be sick in front of seven people, it was a little embarrassing. But I couldn't help but be worried, their looks meant that they weren't too eager to tell me, which must've meant that it had something to do with me - or my father. I was sure I could handle it, so for them to hesitate was a little annoying. Having people choose what to tell me is all I'd known growing up, this was supposed to be different, now it was my choice to decided what I could or could-not take.

"It's nothing." Robin assured, shaking his head.

"That's crap." I stated, earning wide-eyed looks from the others. Maybe swearing in front of a group that knew me as a princess wasn't too good, but I didn't care, they had no right to keep it from me.

Allan's snickers caused me to smile a little, but my question and statement remained. I'd done what they asked of me, stayed in the Forest for god-knows how long, so why couldn't they tell me this small thing? What was so important about the money? And more importantly, what did it have to do with me?.

"Just tell me, one of you. I deserve to know if it has anything to do with me." I pleaded, shaking my head.

"Well," Much started, shrugging as he looked around nervously. "It doesn't have anything to do with you, per-say, it's more..."

"Your father." Allan - thankfully - interjected. I turned to him, waiting for him to continue. "The Sheriff's using the money to get a group of men together to band against your father."

I nodded in understanding. Was I upset? Yes. Nervous? Definitely. But I wasn't too worried about it, I trusted these outlaws, I knew they'd be able to prevent it from happening. It sounded it a little harsh, me putting all that pressure on them, but they weren't doing this for me, they were doing it for them - and England. From the anxious faces most wore I had a small feeling they were waiting for me to do something, cry probably, but I wouldn't. I hadn't cried in a very long time, I was all out of tears, instead I was just full of anger and frustration, mostly towards the Sheriff and my Uncle. Still, I wouldn't go insane over this, worse things could happen.

"Okay." I shrugged, crossing my arms.

"Okay?!" Much exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief and shock. "Just 'okay'?"

"Much, it's fine, I'm fine. I don't want all of you to think you have to keep these things from me just because I'm my father's daughter, people did it to me back home I don't want it here." I told them. Thankfully, no one seemed to protest, they all seemed pretty content with the answer.

~...~...~...The Outlaws' Camp...~...~...~

"What?!" I exclaimed, jumping up from the bed, narrowly avoiding the wooden beam.

The group had just returned from a meeting with Marian, one they'd had without me. Much had walked me back to the camp, saying that he needed to get started on the food anyway. Robin's spy had told him that the money going toward the 'Black-Knights' would be sent off tomorrow, which meant the strong-room would be empty be then. In short; They had to break into it tonight. I had faith in the group, I really did, but I'd seen their training in that barn, and they'd definitely be killed during the actual room. It was suicide for sure, and I was determined to change their minds. Changing Allan's would most-likely be easier, with his constant flirting, and Much seemed nervous enough about it, so he would be as easy. But when I thought harder, I knew they'd stick by Robin, no matter how dangerous the plan was. And this plan screamed 'death'.

"Master, surely!" Much also exclaimed, agreeing with where I was going. "It's insane!"

"We have to go tonight or the money will be sent out tomorrow, if that happens then the King will surely die. It's dangerous, I know, but we have to do it tonight." Robin replied, shrugging apologetically.

"Do you at least have a plan?" I sighed, crossing my arms. The thought of my father being killed was enough motivation for me, if they thought they could do it, the least I could do was be a little supportive.

"I do. Djaq," The Saracen woman nodded at his call, waiting for him to explain his plan. "If Marian can get you the dress, get you into the castle, do you think you can do it?"

"Of course." She reassured.

"Good. I'll be the one to take on the strong-room, I know the sequence well enough, and I have a few other tricks up my sleeve. Just trust me, and Djaq to get us inside." He said, glancing at each outlaw. They all nodded, taking in everything he said.

"You're all insane, you know that don't you?" I told them, leaning against a wooden post.

"A little positivity would be good." Allan said, looking up at me.

"Well forgive me for thinking clearly about all this. But I have to admit, I'm amazed that you're all willing to do this. To be so dedicated to saving England that you're willing to risk your lives, my father would be proud of you - all of you." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Spoken like a true Princess." Robin commented, grinning slightly.

I rolled my eyes at him, lightly shaking my head. "Don't get used to it."

~...~...~...~...~...~

The next morning I stood near one of the smaller roads with the others, watching as the Count packed away his things. He'd been Marian's ally in the castle, he knew all about the strong-room and had also been at the meeting yesterday - something they left out of course. Still, I was grateful, he'd helped save my father. The plan had gone more than well, the sequence had been changed so Robin had been forced to find another way through the strong-room, but he'd thankfully accomplished it. They'd gotten the gold, put most of it into a chest for Count Fredrick - since it was his money in the chest, and now the rest would go to the poor. I was amazed that they'd done so well on this, since the strong-room practice hadn't gone that well, the fact that they'd beaten the real thing was a little surprising. But at least everything was working out so well; My father was safer now, the poor would get their well-deserved money, the sheriff was beaten - again, and we were all safe. Everything was good for once.

Robin and Will chatted with Steven near the carriage. The blind-man was leaving with the count, at least he was getting to a certain distance. I wasn't quite sure where he was headed, but at least he was getting out. He'd be able to start anew, somewhere better than here, though I was sure anywhere was better than here - Acre included. It would be so good to do it, run away and start in a place where no one knew me, but I had to repeatedly remind myself that I already had. This was my home for now, and as different as it was, I'd never been somewhere that I could trust someone as much as I trusted the outlaws - Allan included. But as much as I enjoyed their company, I wished my father would return soon, I missed him so much, and my mother.

"You alright?" I was pulled out my thoughts by Allan, who'd decided to stand next to me and also watch what was going on.

"Fine, just thinking." I replied, crossing my arms.

"About,"

"Home."

"You miss it?" It was more a statement than a question, but I nodded none-the-less.

"Of course. I miss my mother, the language, even all the teachers who tried to teach me. But I need to forget them, for now at least, it won't help to think about it all the time."

Allan nodded in understanding, shrugging slightly. "Well, it ain't all bad to think about it. At least you got a family to go back to."

I turned to look up at him, my eyes narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, me mum's dead, dad's a drunk, brother's dead. I got nothin' to go back to do I? You got a mum, dad, maybe a little brother or sister one day." I smiled and rolled my eyes. "_And _you're a princess, don't get any better than that."

Count Fredrick climbed into the carriage and closed the door, turning to face us. "Farewell." He waved. We all waved slightly as the carriage headed down the road.

"Right," Robin sighed, clasping his hands together. "Work to do."

"I suppose I'm going back to camp." I said, tilting my head in annoyance.

"You are right Prim. Allan, would you escort the Lady back to camp." The outlaw grinned, earning an eye-roll from myself.

"O' course."

The others took off down the road, carrying a large wooden chest with them. Apparently I'd missed out the part where Count Fredrick left us the money. Still, I didn't have to worry about it. I followed Allan into the deeper part of the forest and towards the camp. I still had no idea where I was going, one of the many reasons why they still insisted on escorting me back to the camp. The last thing they needed was the Princess of England lost in Sherwood forest.

"You know, being a princess isn't all that easy." I told him as we strolled next to each other.

"Yeah right." He scoffed.

"I'm serious," I insisted. "It's a lot harder than you think."

Allan rolled his eyes and glanced down at me, shaking his head as we walked. "I don' believe yah."

"Fine, let me explain. Everything you do can be classed as unladylike or wrong. Walking, sitting, reading, talking, eating, drinking - pretty much anything. Then when you learn how to do it all everyone has this great expectation of you, and you have no control of your own. My teachers would always tell me what my fate would be. that I would marry a wealthy man and have his child. That was the extent of my life, up until my Uncle decided to ambush the carriage. There was so much pressure, and when my father signed that will I thought I'd faint from it all. There are perks of course; The beds, the food, the money. Still, it's not like I have much freedom here either." I shrugged, looking down at the forest ground.

"So, how much money did you 'ave?" He finally asked. I stopped and smacked his arm, laughing in disbelief.

"Out of everything I said that was all you got?!"

Allan shrugged innocently, turning so that he could face me. "Not my fault, money sounds good to any outlaw."

"I suppose that's fair enough." I sighed, smiling slightly.

"It is. 'Sides, you get a bit of freedom out 'ere. You get to wear what yah want, do what you want - within reason o' course. An' you're around a bunch o' good-lookin' men all day, what's wrong with that?" He said, grinning.

"You are unbelievable." I giggled, shaking my head.

"I've been told." He proudly declared.

"Well, when the time comes, I'd marry any of you lads over a wealthy man."

"I'm pretty sure we'd be 'appy about it too luv."

"I know you'd be happy about all that money Allan." I told him in mock-annoyance, carrying on towards the camp.

"Nah, not jus' the money." He said, catching up to me. "I'd be marryin' a beautiful young lass wouldn' I? Money's jus' an added bonus."

I laughed and rolled my eyes, amused with his replies. The man was amusing, that much I knew. And even though I got very nervous around him, it was so easy to talk to him, maybe because I'd been talking with him longer than any of the others. He didn't judge me, didn't push me on anything I said, and I couldn't be more grateful for it. Though I wasn't too naïve, I knew what a man like him usually wanted from woman, he made it pretty obvious with the constant flirting, and with his looks I wasn't surprised. Still, I knew I had to be careful, and I wouldn't fall - I couldn't.

"If I did marry then the man wouldn't be King, not unless my father died and I became Queen. He'd probably be a Lord in Wales, maybe England as well."

"I'd take that over runnin' any day." He shrugged.

"How about a deal then?" I said, tugging his arm so that he would stop walking. He did and turned to me, eyes narrowed in confusion. "You don't want to be outlawed when father comes home, and I don't want to marry an ass."

"Where yah goin' with this Prim?"

"If my father comes home, why don't we marry? That way I'd be living with a man I actually enjoy being around, and you'd have all the money you could ever want. You wouldn't even have to live with me, you could have your own lodge or castle somewhere in England. What do you think?" I nervously asked, wringing my hands nervously.

"I think it's the best idea you've ever 'ad." He chuckled, shaking his head lightly.

"I agree."

"So, 'ow do we sign this agreement exactly?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, though I was pretty sure I knew where he was going with it.

"Well, some shake hands, some sign a piece o' paper, some kiss." Allan had slowly started to lean down as he spoke, until out foreheads once again touched. I smiled slightly and shook my head, causing my nose to rub against his.

"Not the time."

Allan nodded but groaned as he stood straight, carrying on through the forest. "I'll get that kiss one day, Prim."

I smiled and walked next to him, lightly nudging his arm with my shoulder. "I don't doubt it for a second."


End file.
